


Frozen Noses and Warm Hands

by CacophonyOfWords



Category: Free!
Genre: Christmas, Humor, M/M, New Year, Romantic Comedy, winter holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-09-26 07:39:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17137718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CacophonyOfWords/pseuds/CacophonyOfWords
Summary: “So, umm,” Rin muttered, trying to make conversation and hoping that the heat of the water would work well enough to mask the redness he was feeling on his cheeks and ears. “What are the plans for the next few days?”“I have no plans,” Haru said with a shrug.“Ehh,” Rin objected. “You brought me up all the way to Hokkaido for a week and now you tell me you have no plans for us?”





	1. Day 1: Dinner Date

December 24th: Dinner Date

 

Cold air harshly welcomed Rin’s face when the train door slid open. He quickly stepped off the train, dragging his suitcase by his side and nuzzling his nose lower into the woolen scarf he had wrapped around his neck. Sapporo’s air was quite cooler than what they had left behind in Tokyo.

He slowed his steps and turned his head to see where his trip companion was, finding Haru just two feet away, zipping his jacket up above his chin.

“Where do we go?” Rin asked, his voice slightly muffled by the scarf.

“This way,” Haru nodded towards the escalators.

Reaching the first floor, Rin followed Haru towards the East Ticket Gate, seeing the first signs for their hotel. Leaving the gate, they both showed their JR Passes to a station attendant before walking towards the exit and turning right down the passageway.

“I still need to get your mom something,” Rin commented as they walked by a bakery. “Maybe something sweet?”

“The last thing you want to bring my parents is something sweet,” Haru pointed out, half a step ahead of Rin. “We should be close,” he added then, slowing his pace to let the automatic doors slide open. He turned left, Rin following right behind him, not really bothering to look around too much – he just wanted to be out of the cold as soon as possible.

“Almost there,” Haru said, pointing at a sign with his free hand.

Rin looked up and saw a signboard showing the way to the JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo. They walked through two more automatic doors before Rin finally felt like he could lower his scarf without his nose freezing off in two seconds. His gaze was caught by the colorful stained glass art covering a whole wall on his left and he stopped a second to snap a photo of it on his phone.

“Rin?” Haru called him from a few meters away, where he had stopped to wait for him.

“Coming,” Rin called back, pocketing his phone and grabbing his suitcase again, joining Haru in a couple of quick steps.

“We’re here,” Haru said, pointing at another set of sliding doors and Rin could see the hotel lobby behind the glass.

Beyond, it was just like any other hotel. After receiving the keys to their room and assuring the hotel staff that no, they really did not need a bellboy helping them, they walked towards the elevator.

“What floor?” Rin asked his fingers ghosting over the buttons near the elevator door.

Haru looked at the key card in his hand before answering, “Thirty-three.”

Rin pressed the right button and the elevator quickly rose up, a ring announcing their arrival at the desired floor a couple of seconds later. He let Haru walk ahead of him again, not knowing the number of their room.

Haru stopped in front of the door for room 3325 and after sliding the keycard in the slit, he opened the door and stepped aside to let Rin in first.

Rin took in the room. It was one of the fanciest hotel rooms he had ever seen, two big beds were aligned against the wall with a large flatscreen tv hanging on the wall across from them. Underneath the window, there was a small table with comfy looking armchairs on each side.

“Whoa,” Rin whistled. “How much did you pay for this room?” he asked, blinking in amazement.

“My dad made the reservation,” Haru explained as he rolled his suitcase in front of one of the beds. “He stays here often for work, I think he has some kind of business discount,” he added as he dropped the backpack off his shoulders. “Disappointed?”

“In what?” Rin asked, confused, unwrapping the scarf from around his neck after freeing himself from his own backpack.

“There are two beds,” Haru teased.

Rin felt his cheeks flush. “Oh shut up,” he muttered. “I told you, it was the hotel’s mistake.”

“Right,” Haru mused. “They reserved you a double room instead of a twin one, common mistake.”

“Oi,” Rin grunted, unzipping his coat and sitting down on what he claimed as his bed for the night. “How long will you keep bringing up that story? You remind me every time we go to a hotel.”

“As long as we  continue sharing rooms, probably,” Haru answered calmly before turning to the window and looking out. The sun had already set and the sky was now colored light blue. “You want to eat something in the tower or should we go to the market first?”

“Let’s go to the market, Gou asked me to get her some cookies,” Rin said, fishing his wallet out of his backpack. Making sure he had his phone also, he grabbed his scarf and wrapped it loosely around his neck. “Ready?” he asked, looking at Haru who was just zipping up his jacket.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

 

Rin was looking around the underground passageway as he waited for Haru to get out of the 100 yen store.

“I swear, if he is making me wait because he saw some weird stuffed animal in the window…” he muttered, checking the time on his phone. It had been almost ten minutes since Haru had told him to wait outside the shop, what was he even doing in there for so long? The shop was not _that_ big.

“Rin,” Haru called him after he _finally_ got out. Rin quickly scanned Haru’s hands, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion at seeing them empty. Did Haru let him wait for buying some gum?

“Finally,” Rin said, walking in step with Haru as they continued down the passageway. According to Rin’s very lacking knowledge of Sapporo’s layout, they were close to their destination.

“Here’s Odori Park,” Haru said, turning towards the stairs that led above ground.

Rin’s steps unconsciously quickened, part of him actually excited at what awaited them. He had never really been at a Christmas Market and he always wanted to see the light show in Sapporo for himself. From the photos he had seen since he was a kid, it looked quite fun and… why not, Rin had admitted to himself with a smile, it _was_ romantic. And Rin was about to visit it with the subject of his long-term crush.

Too bad he and Haru were not dating.

Rin barely acknowledged the temperature drop that surrounded him as they walked up the stairs, his eyes too busy taking in everything that surrounded him.

The park was filled with stalls built side by side, each one selling traditional Christmas trinkets. He saw baubles decorated in red, gold, and silver, rows and rows of weirdly decorated hearts. One stall was even selling those traditional Russian dolls that you could stack into one.

“Wow,” was the only thing he managed to say as he continued looking around.

“Take this,” Haru said and Rin looked at the two plastic packets Haru was handling him.

“What are these?” Rin asked, trying to read the label on front.

“Pocket warmers,” Haru explained and procured two more packets for himself. He tore the plastic envelope on both of them at the same time, taking out what looked like two sealed teabags. “You just shake them,” he continued, demonstrating the movement as if he was shaking a salt shaker. “And then they get warm so you put them in your pockets,” he finished explaining and stepped close to Rin, reaching into each of the pockets of Rin’s jacket, dropping the packets inside before retreating. “Put your hands in your pockets now,” he nudged Rin, taking back the two packages Rin still clutched in his hand.

Rin slowly put his hands in his pockets, his fingers feeling instantly warm. He knew what pocket warmers were, _obviously_ , but he hadn’t used them since he was a kid, probably.

Was this what Haru had gone to buy?

“Thanks, Haru,” he smiled and looked at the other boy who had just finished shaking the second set of pocket warmers and put them in his own coat.

“Should we go?” Haru was sporting a small smile as he nodded towards the nearest stalls.

Over an hour later and with a bag full of lebkuchen for his sister, Rin was feeling split. Because as much as walking down the Christmas Market had been fun, and watching the white illumination all around him was just as captivating, despite the pocket warmers he was still way too cold for his liking. He was used to the Australian climate, and the two winters he had spent back in Japan were not nearly as freezing as the first few hours he had spent in Hokkaido.

“Ah, here,” Haru suddenly grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him into a building, Rin almost slipping on the snow under his feet.

“Oi,” he grunted, trying to avoid colliding with a teenaged boy too immersed in his cellphone to notice where was he walking. “A little warning next time?” Rin huffed, unzipping his jacket a bit. The shopping mall was pleasantly warm as he looked around. “More shopping?” he asked.

“No, there is a restaurant where I made a reservation,” Haru said, looking around for the elevators.

The mention of food made Rin realize that they indeed hadn’t eaten anything since their bento lunch on the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hakodate.

“Fancy hotels, restaurant reservations,” Rin said as they got seated at what seemed like a traditional Japanese restaurant. “If I didn’t knew you any better, I would think you are wooing me, Nanase,” he said as a joke before pulling out his phone.

“Wouldn’t you like that, Matsuoka,” Haru shot back just as a waiter approached their table.

“Good evening,” the man greeted them and offered a glass of water each. “May I take your order?”

“Ah,” Rin quickly looked at the menu, his eyes scanning the items on the list. To be honest he would eat anything at that point, as long as it was hot. “I will have some spicy miso ramen.”

“I will have the same,” Haru said, surprising Rin. “And some zangi.”

Rin was still blinking in shock when the waiter thanked them and left.

“What?” Haru asked, noticing Rin’s expression. “It is Christmas Eve, shouldn’t we have chicken?”

“It’s not that,” Rin chuckled. “No mackerel?” he asked, referencing Haru’s first order.

“Ah,” Haru understood and took a sip of water. “I will be having it at home.”

“And when did this stop you from eating mackerel at every meal?” Rin wondered.

Haru shrugged. “Coach Ryuuji says I should be eating other foods, too.”

Rin gaped. “That’s what I’ve been saying for years, Haru.”

“And Sapporo is famous for its miso ramen,” Haru added.

“I know,” Rin pointed out. “That’s why I ordered it,” he said with a snort and unlocked his phone. He opened his photo gallery folder and browsed through the most recent ones.

“New instagram post?” Haru asked without even batting an eye.

Rin grinned. “Well, I haven’t made any proper update since I moved back to Japan,” he pointed out, opening the app. After he and Haru made the national team, some of their senpai suggested they make a profile on a social media site or two. It was not mandatory, but they all pointed out it could come in handy later because of sponsorship deals. Also, by making their own accounts on social media, even if they were not using them often, they still prevented others from pretending to be them online. So, both he and Haru made a Twitter and Instagram account, linking them together. Rin was definitely the one who posted more often, trying to post photos on Instagram on weekly basis and making a tweet every couple of days.

“You realize you have more followers than me just because you use it more often, right?” Haru said, taking another sip of his water.

Rin grinned. “Yeah, yeah, you’re just jealous because my outfit of the day gets more likes than your mackerel of the day.”

“I think it is important for all the future athletes out there to be aware of how important a healthy and balanced diet is,” Haru said in defense.

“Five minutes ago you said your coach had told you to eat foods other than mackerel,” Rin chuckled and opened a photo taken barely an hour ago.

“Do you mind if I add this?” he asked, turning his phone and showing Haru the photo of them at the Christmas Market. Rin was grinning at the camera extended up above him, the stands well lit by all the lights. Haru was standing a couple of steps ahead of him, his head half turned and looking at the camera. If Rin zoomed in, he could see the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

“It’s okay,” Haru said with a shrug.

Rin grinned and added the photo to his Instagram post before hovering his fingers over the keyboard.

‘Spending the end of the year up North. Thank you for all your support and see you in the New Year!’

He turned the phone back to Haru, waiting in silence for an approval.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be giving out details of your whereabouts online?” Haru asked, recalling that time Nagisa decided to overshare on his profiles all the information about the party they were having at Iwatobi SC, which led to way too many people appearing at the pool and for Rin, Haru and Ikuya having to sneak out the backdoor, with a very neurotic Makoto driving them away.

“That’s why I’m posting it today with photos from Sapporo,” Rin explained. “Hopefully they will think we will be in the area of the city, and not 150 km away,” he added as he pressed post. He went back to the photo gallery, selected a few others that turned out good enough and attached them to a message before sending it to Sousuke.

“Remind me later to reblog your post,” Haru commented and thanked the waiter who had just appeared with their food.

Rin was about to pocket his phone when it buzzed in his hand.

‘What, I don’t get the selfie with your darling?’

Rin felt the tips of his ears heat up and pulled the phone closer to his chest, as if Haru could read the exchange he was having with his best friend.

‘Oi, stop joking around’ he typed back furiously.

‘Your sister says she hopes you didn’t forget her cookies’

Rin frowned and gave a brief glance at the bag he had put on the chair next to him.

‘I did not. And why is Gou with you?’

There was no immediate response and Rin was considering calling his best friend and shouting at him, when he received another message with an attachment.

It was a selfie taken by Sousuke and by his side was Gou, the two of them were in front of the Matsuoka house. Rin’s eyes zoomed in on the bottom corner of the photo where he could see his sister had wrapped her arms around Sousuke’s elbow.

‘We had the IwaSame Christmas party, I was just walking her home.’ Read the message.

‘I hope Gou’s hands were all over you just for the sake of the photo,’ Rin grunted to himself as he replied back.

‘Would you have preferred Momo taking her back home?’ was Sousuke’s answer.

Rin clenched his teeth and pondered his reply when Haru’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Rin,” he called and passed him a small plate filled with fried chicken. “The food will get cold,” he chastised him.

“Huh,” Rin blinked twice before remembering where he was and with whom. “Hah, sorry,” he said accepting the plate in front of him and looking for the first time at the other food on the table.

Rin put his phone away, dismissing all the teasing from his best friend. He would call him later that night, or maybe even another day.

But right then, he was with Haru on what was basically a dinner date.

Well, it wasn’t, but it almost felt like it. It was just like when he took Haru to Australia, when he wanted to show him the pieces of his life that he hadn’t really shared with anyone before. Showing him all the places and making him try all the food. Except this time, it was Haru taking him to see new places.

Everything else could wait.

* * *

 

“Nanase-san, Matsuoka-san,” a middle aged man in a business suit approached them with fast steps as soon as they entered the hotel lobby. “Let me introduce myself, I am Yamada,” he continued without catching a breath, bowing deeply in front of the boys.

Rin and Haru looked at each other confused, before politely returning the bow.

“Good evening,” they said in unison.

The man straightened his back, nervously looking between them both. “I am the hotel manager and I just wanted to welcome you to our hotel. It is such an honor to have here two of the most prominent new athletes in our nation,” he continued, bowing again.

Rin scratched the back of his neck and looked around. Thankfully the hour was late enough that not many people were in the lobby and so far they didn’t attract any attention.

“Is the room to your liking?” Yamada continued. “I saw you booked a twin room, we can easily give you a suite, it would obviously be free of charge…”

“Ah, no need to,” Rin stopped him. “We are staying just overnight, we are leaving tomorrow.”

“Oh,” the director’s face clouded with disappointment. “Then, should I ask one of our chefs to make you some dinner? What would you prefer? Traditional Japanese, French…”

“It’s okay, thank you,” Haru was the one to stop Yamada now. “We had dinner in the city,” he explained.

“Well then,” the director continued, looking briefly at his wristwatch. “Since you have been out until now you must feel really cold. I must ask you to at least consider visiting our spa. The opening hours are about to end, but it would be my pleasure to keep it open for one more hour, so the two of you could use it,” he offered with a bow. “I have to deeply apologize for having the pool out of commission, it is under extraordinary maintenance due to a mishap happening earlier this afternoon.”

“That is a pity, yes,” Rin repeated nervously, locking eyes with Haru and trying to figure out whether the other was feeling as on the spot as him. “Maybe the spa…” he considered, raising his eyebrows at Haru.

“We would be honored if you could let us have such a favor,” Haru continued, before returning the same look of exasperation.

“Consider it done,” Yamada said, bowing deeply once again.

* * *

 

Rin sighed one more time as he dipped his shoulders a little bit more into the hot water, feeling just the tip of his ponytail getting wet.

“Why does this city have to be so cold,” he muttered, throwing a side glance at Haru, who was just a couple of feet away soaking in the cold plunge pool.

“You still liked it,” Haru pointed out, his eyes closed and his typical water bliss expression painted on his face.

“I did,” Rin agreed. “Have you been here many times?”

“I know my mom used to take me to see the white lights and the snow festival every year when we were still living here, but I was too young to remember much,” he opened his eyes and turned to look at Rin. “But I have a photo of me in front of a snow sculpture of a mackerel.”

“Wait,” Rin blinked surprised and ignored the part of the sculpture because, of course, Haru would have taken a photo in front of something like that. “You lived here? In _Sapporo?_ ” he asked genuinely shocked. How did he not know such a basic piece of information about Haru? Did Makoto know? Obviously Makoto would know.

“No,” Haru shook his head.“I was born and lived in Asahikawa.”

Rin’s mouth dropped and he sincerely gaped. “I thought your family was from Iwatobi…”

“My dad’s side, yes,” Haru explained and shifted on his position, making small waves appear on the surface of the water. “But my mom’s is from Otaru, in Hokkaido. They met when my dad came to Sapporo to study and he met my mom here . Dad found work in Asahikawa so they moved there after getting married,” he finished.

“So why did you moved to Iwatobi?” Rin wondered.

“When I was little, my grandfather died, leaving my grandma alone in Iwatobi,” Haru answered. “My mom decided she and I should move there to keep her company.”

Rin’s lips stretched into a smile. “That was nice of her,” he commented. He was still slightly shocked at what he had just found out about Haru, but on the other hand, when they met, Rin was too obsessed with Haru’s swimming to actually nag him about his place of birth. Not that Haru would actually answer him back then.

Rin laughed to himself. He wondered if he would find out any more of Haru’s secrets in the next few days.

And just then, Haru decided to stand up from the cold bath and climb over to sink into the hot spring tub, displaying more of his _secrets_ right at Rin’s eye level.

Rin coughed in embarrassment and averted his eyes, focusing on _anything_ until he was sure Haru was seated in the bathtub, his privates hidden by the water.

“So, umm,” he muttered, trying to make conversation and hoping that the heat of the water would work well enough to mask the redness he was feeling on his cheeks and ears. “What are the plans for the next few days?”

“I have no plans,” Haru said with a shrug.

“Ehh,” Rin objected. “You brought me up all the way to Hokkaido for a week and now you tell me you have no plans for us?”

“My parents told me to invite you over, it was not my idea,” Haru pointed out.

Rin frowned. So Haru had not wanted him here? “Has Makoto ever been invited?” he asked.

Haru shook his head, droplets of water flying from the tips of his hair.

“So… why did your parents want me here?” Rin asked genuinely confused.

Haru looked away for a second, the lights of the city mirroring in his eyes. “I think they wanted to thank you for helping me…” Haru began slowly.

“Huh?” Rin raised an eyebrow curiously.

“For when you took me to Sydney,” Haru continued. “They were aware of my struggles with my future plans, Amakata-sensei actually called my mother about it. I think they were more relieved than me when I called them after returning,” a smile stretched his lips, making Rin’s heart do a flip. If this were a romance movie, he would probably have jumped on Haru to kiss him right into the water.

But since it was not a movie and they were both quite naked in a hotel’s spa, Rin remained still.

“My mom has been nagging me to invite you up here since then,” Haru turned to look at Rin again. “And since you are still a hopeless romantic, I figured you would enjoy the White Illumination.”

Rin snorted. “I did enjoy them,” he admitted, giving up for the time being on even trying to hide his blush. “A little bit too cold for my liking. I’m kind of sad I will miss the snow sculpture festival, that should be fun, too.”

“It is,” Haru nodded. “But they never made a mackerel sculpture again,” he added with an afterthought.

Rin’s laugh died on his lips as it morphed into a wide yawn. “Okay, I think I soaked enough,” he muttered and splashed his face with some water. “I’m going to rinse myself, you’re coming?” he asked, turning slowly in the tub.

“Yeah,” Haru agreed, moving quicker than Rin and stepping out of the bathtub right away. Rin pretended to look for his small towel to tie around his waist as Haru walked butt naked towards the shower cubicles.

“Oh, Rin,” Haru said, after Rin joined him in the cubicle nearby.

“Hm?” Rin answered absentmindedly, fumbling with the handles of the shower. He wanted to keep as much warmth as possible before leaving the spa and going back to their room.

A sudden splash of freezing water hit his back, straight out of the shower head Haru had lifted across the wall between their cubicles.

“Asahikawa is even colder.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, only the notes to this chapter will be this long.  
> Okay, so let me just explain a bit of the background to this story… I’ve been dying to write a fic where Rin would meet Haru’s parents for years. And when the Free! novel came out and we found out they lived in Hokkaido, I automatically decided the fic will be set in winter and Rin and Haru will be the ones traveling up north. Then, when season 3 was announced, I had hopes that we would meet Haru’s parents but I was also pretty aware that it will most probably not happen, so back then I took the decision that after Season 3 ended, I would write this winter holiday fic, where Rin will meet Haru’s parents. And then Rinharuweek was announced with its bonus week, and everything kind of clicked into place so here I am.  
> I want to thank Lady Zeia for basically helping putting up this fic and also fixing all of its mistakes (and they are so many, omg), shout out to @mackerel_pizza on twitter for helping me with additional infos about Hokkaido and shout out to pretty much everyone else who listened to me ramble about this fic.  
> The plan is to post every day for the next 8 days, since the fic will also cover the same period of time, each chapter will have a mini prompt/trope to it. And I never do this, but because half of this fic still has to be written, kudos and comments are appreciated and can fuel me to write more. And thank you if you are still reading these rambles of mine.  
> PS: Believe it or not, I am not planning on raising the rating.


	2. Day 2: Meet The Parents

December 25th: Meet The Parents

 

“Haruka!” a female voice called from near the entrance of Asahikawa Central Station.

Rin turned to see a woman in a long white coat and matching hat waving furiously at them.

“Mom,” Haru greeted his parent as they walked towards her, the woman giving both of them a big and kind smile. She looked so much like her son that Rin felt almost weird seeing her happy expression.

“Hello Haruka,” she said, giving her son’s forearm a squeeze. “Hello Rin-kun,” she said then, looking at him. 

“Good evening, Nanase-san,” Rin greeted her with a bow. 

“Do you boys have everything?” her voice was warm, as were her eyes as she looked between them. 

“Yes,” Haru answered for both of them, looking at Rin for a confirmation nod.

“Well, let’s go to the car,” Haru’s mom chirped then. “Let’s save the chat for when we are back home, shall we? You boys are probably not used to this cold,” she added before turning on her heels and walking towards the parking lot of the station, the two boys following her.

They drove out of the city for some time, and Rin didn’t really get to see much of the surroundings – the hour was late enough that it was already dark, and all that he could see was covered in a thick layer of snow. Leaving the main road behind them, they arrived in front of a house that Rin had to assume was the Nanase residence.

It was freaking huge.

“Come on in,” Haru’s mom rushed them inside, both boys struggling a bit with their suitcases – they couldn’t just roll them because of the snow on the ground.  

Once in the genkan and with his feet wrapped in a pair of warm woolen slippers, Rin looked around and realized that the house might be even bigger than it looked from the outside.

“Haruka,” his mom said after she removed her hat, her long hair falling down her back. “Please, show Rin his room?”

Rin felt his cheeks warm up a little when she sent him another smile and he quickly averted his eyes to look at Haru.

“Is he staying upstairs?” Haru asked, rolling his own suitcase against the wall and tilting his head towards the stairs.

“Yes, be sure to show him where are the extra blankets, will you?” Haru’s mom added before walking down the hallway. “I will start on the dinner meanwhile, your dad should be home soon with the chicken.”

Rin followed Haru up the stairs, where another hallway stretched down the entire length of the house.

“This house is huge,” Rin commented with wide eyes as he followed Haru, the wooden floor looked so clean and polished he felt terrified to even consider putting his suitcase down and just roll it.

Haru walked two doors down and opened a door before walking in. He switched the light on, showing Rin the inside of what would be his bedroom for the next few days. 

Rin quickly put his baggage down, sighing in relief when he saw he could just put it on the dark blue carpet near the bed before he actually looked around. The room was moderately spacious, the bed was a queen size, which surprised him; he was sure he would end up sleeping on a futon on the floor by Haru’s bed – or at least part of him hoped for it. There was a pretty big wardrobe in the corner and a matching chest of drawers opposite the bed and a small table and a chair near the window. But what caught Rin’s attention was the door to the right of the bed.

“Are you kidding…” Rin muttered to himself as he went to open it.

His jaw dropped when he noticed that indeed there was a bathroom inside. Just a shower cubicle and a sink, but still, Haru’s parents guestroom had an ensuite bathroom?

“Haru,…”

“The toilet is at the end of the hallway,” Haru said. “The big bathroom with the bath is downstairs.”

“Out of pure curiosity,” Rin turned his head to look at Haru. “Are your parents rich?”

“No,” Haru replied calmly. “Why?”

“Why?” Rin almost shouted. “This house is huge, and you have a guestroom with its own bathroom?”

“It is just a shower…”

“Haru…”

“My parents are not rich,” Haru grumbled. “But my dad won the lottery a couple of years ago and it was enough for him to get this house. But he liked it mainly for the location, they never really needed this much space…”

“Well, that explains a lot…” Rin muttered to himself and walked to the window to look out. It was obviously dark outside, and the house seemed to be in the middle of the countryside. But Rin could still see the surrounding area thanks to the snow reflecting the moonlight.

“Wow,” he gasped. He could see hills covered in a thick and fluffy blanket of snow, the tops of the trees were also white. “It looks like the paintings we saw yesterday at the market,” he commented, snapping a few more pictures on his phone.

“Yes,” Haru agreed and joined Rin at the window. Rin could see their reflections in the glass.

“I bet I can make a bigger snowman than you,” Rin said with a grin. 

Haru smirked back. “We’ll see.”

“Boys, come downstairs,” Haru’s mom’s voice suddenly called them. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

“I guess dad arrived,” Haru commented and turned around to walk out of the room. “Ah,” he stopped in front of the chest and kneeled down, pulling the lowest drawer open. “Here are the extra blankets mom talked about,” he explained before shutting the drawer. “You’re coming?”

“I’ll be right behind you,” Rin said. “I just need to get something out of the suitcase first.”

“Okay,” Haru nodded.

Finding himself alone in the room, Rin let a deep exhale leave his lungs. A sudden rush of nerves had crawled his way into his bones, the realization that not only was he about to meet Haru’s parents, but also have dinner with them and spend the next week with them, including New Year’s Eve. Sure, he had met them before at Nationals during their third year of high school, but it was a passing moment and with the exception of just greeting them, they didn’t really spend much time together. When a couple of weeks ago Haru had called him while Rin was busy packing away his stuff from his Sydney apartment, telling him his parents wanted Rin to come spend a few days in Hokkaido, Rin had agreed immediately without even thinking of the implications.

And honestly, what were the implications, he was just there as Haru’s friend, unless both of the Nanase had the superpower of reading Rin’s mind, they would not know that Rin had been crushing and lusting over their only son for what now seemed like an eternity.

And no matter what Sousuke continued to say, Rin refused to believe he was really that easy to read because otherwise it would mean that Haru was just as oblivious.

He unzipped his suitcase and carefully pulled out a bundle of his softest sweaters and untangled them on the bed. He sighed in relief when he didn’t feel any wetness under his palm as he unveiled a big cardboard tube.  

But he almost dropped it when a sudden voice startled him.

“Rin-kun,” Haruka’s mom had appeared at the door, a slight hint of concern in her voice. “Is everything okay?”

“Ah,” Rin fumbled with his hands and carefully put the tube down before turning around. “Yes, yes. I was just grabbing something before coming downstairs.

“I’m glad to hear it, I brought you some towels for the bathroom,” she stepped inside and put the stack of bright red terry cloth on top of the chest. “Is the room to your liking?” 

“Ah, it is beautiful, thank you again for your hospitality, Nanase-san,” Rin rushed to say and bowed. “There wasn’t really a need for giving me a room for myself, a futon would had been enough.”

A laugh escaped Haruka’s mom’s lips and Rin blushed both at the sound and the sight. The moments where he had seen Haru do the very same gesture were rare, but Rin had burnt each one of those moments into his brain.  Seeing Haru’s mom show that same expression was just a reminder of how big his crush was.

“It is our pleasure, hospitality is nothing compared to what you gave our son,” she said. “And please, feel free to call me Yuki. I’m too young to be called Nanase-san,” she joked and squeezed Rin’s forearm.

Rin gulped. “O-okay… Yuki-san,” he stammered and mentally kicked himself. Why was Haru such a carbon copy of his mother and why was Rin having such a big problem just being … normal around her? He never had nerves like that, not even when he was twelve and introducing himself in a foreign language to a bunch of Australian kids.

“That’s better,” she rewarded him with another smile. “Are you ready for dinner?”

“Yeah,” Rin nodded and nervously smiled back. He quickly grabbed the cardboard tube from his bed and followed  _ Yuki-san  _ downstairs.

When Rin walked into the living room, he had to stop on the threshold in shock. He wasn’t really sure what was he expecting from having a Christmas dinner at the Nanase house, but he was definitely not expecting to see the residues of what had to be a Christmas bomb explosion. 

There was a huge  _ real spruce  _ in the corner, decorated in red and silver baubles. Matching decorations were hungall around the room, a banner with the words MERRY CHRISTMAS in big block letters had been put up right above the double glass doors that led to the patio outside. 

Rin looked at the dining table, covered in a matching red and white tablecloth, each chair back covered in a huge Santa hat. 

“This one is for you,” Haru appeared by his side, a headband with fake reindeer horns attached in his hand. Rin was still shocked but had to chuckle when he saw Haru sporting a matching headband.

“Haru, what…” he started but Haru interrupted him.

“My dad is kind of obsessed with Christmas,” he explained. 

“I can see,” Rin pursed his lips with amusement as he happily accepted the headband and perched it on top of his head. He sneaked another glance around the room, he was alone with Haru but he could hear two voices chatting in the kitchen adjacent to the living room.

It took him a bit that Haru had remained there the whole time, just watching him.

“…What?” he asked nervously. 

Haru sighed and shook his head. “Nothing,” he said and went to walk to the kitchen, just as a tall figure with a proper Santa hat on top of his head stepped in. Luckily he was not wearing a full Santa outfit, but Rin made a double take at the bright red button up shirt, matched with a white tie with a Christmas tree embroidered at the bottom of it, decorated with shiny red rhinestones.

“Rin-kun!” Haru’s dad exclaimed as he put on the table a big platter of what could only be fried chicken.

“Nanase-san,” Rin greeted and bowed, realizing only then how ridiculous it must have looked with the two horns on top of his head. “I want to thank you too, for the hospitality.”

“Ah, it’s a pleasure, it is always nice to have people around on Christmas,” Haru’s dad said, adding a fake ho-ho-ho at the end that just weirded Rin out.

“I brought you something to thank you,” Rin remembered then, offering the cardboard tube to Nanase-san, his head lowered in a bow.

Haru’s dad looked surprised at first. “There really was no need,” he started protesting.

“Please, accept it,” Rin replied. “I don’t really have much of a knowledge about it, but Russell suggested this wine.”

“Oh,” Nanase-san’s eyes widened and he finally accepted the gift. “Russell is the man you lived with, right? My son talked about him and his wife…”

“Yes,” Rin nodded. “This is one of the best Australian wines,” Rin continued, explaining just how Russell had told him when they went to buy it. “It is a Riesling… it is supposed to taste better with time.”

“I see,” Haru’s dad said with a smile. “I tell you what, I will save this and let’s open it after Tokyo 2020, what do you say? Will you and my son give me a reason to open it then?” he asked.

Rin needed a moment to register the words. “You can bet on it,” he said then with a grin.

“Good,” Haru’s dad said, squeezing Rin’s shoulder. “Your mom will also be invited to the celebrations, obviously.”

“Sure,” Rin replied with a nod, starting to feel slightly less nervous about being with Haru’s father… his crazy outfit was probably helping, too.

“Are you boys done talking?” Haru’s mom called them, and Rin looked at the table that was now full of food, Tuki-san and her son both seated.

“No need to be told twice,” Haru’s dad replied. “Are you hungry, Rin?”

Rin smiled. “I’m starving actually.”

* * *

 

_ Rin was full. _

Haru’s parents had apparently gone all out, maybe because they had their son home or because it was Christmas – or maybe both, but the result was a ton of food. And Rin felt as if most of it had now been packed into his stomach. 

“Do you boys have anything planned for tomorrow?” Haru’s dad asked, taking a sip from his cup of coffee.

Rin looked up from the slice of strawberry shortcake he was slowly going through.

“You should take it easy tomorrow, you spent the last two days mostly travelling,” Yuki-san suggested.

“What do you think, Rin?” Haru asked.

“Umm,” Rin quickly swallowed the piece of cake and took a sip of water before answering. “I was wondering if we could go to a mall?” he wondered. “I think the coat I brought along is not warm enough for the winter here,” he added with a chuckle.

“I was going to leave you my car, Haruka,” Haru’s mom said. “So you boys can move easily, the bus station is too far for this time of the year.”

“Thanks, mom,” Haru said. “We could go to a mall and maybe a gym?” he asked, looking at Rin who nodded back. He knew Haru was definitely starving for some pool time, and after today’s dinner Rin felt they both needed some training, although they were technically on a break. 

“Before I forget,” Yuki said then. “I will be going to Otaru the day after tomorrow, you boys are free to join me.”

“You’re going to see grandma?” Haru asked.

“Yes, I was planning on taking the train and coming back in the afternoon with Auntie Tsukino who is already there. What do you boys think?” she looked between her son and Rin.

“I’d like to see grandma,” Haru admitted.

“Sounds okay to me,” Rin said, looking between the two of them.

“Okay, enough talking about the future, it is still Christmas,” Haru’s dad suddenly announced, startling everyone around the table. He stood up and walked to the Christmas tree, where a jute sack was waiting. He grabbed it and brought it back to the table, humming  something that reminded Rin of Jingle Bells.

“Ho ho ho,” he said then, his voice lowered by a few keys. “I gave the pretty lady here her gift already yesterday, but since I heard you two boys have been really good this year, I have something for you, too.” He then proceeded to take out two wrapped gifts, each one with a big red ribbon on it and attached to it a name tag. “Merry Christmas boys,” he said, giving each of them its package.

“Merry Christmas,” his wife echoed. 

Rin accepted the gift almost speechless.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely. “There was no need for it, your hospitality…”

“Oh come on,” Haru’s dad interrupted him. “I said what I said, it is just a small thought.”

“You don’t want to get on my dad’s bad side,” Haru added.

Rin looked up almost afraid. What was that supposed to mean? Would Haru’s dad be offened now?

But then he saw Haru’s eyebrows rise with amusement and something tapped lightly against his foot under the table, making Rin smile to himself.

“Thank you very much,” he eventually said, and started to slowly and carefully unwrap the gift. His eyes saw something red and his fingers touched something soft before he pulled out a flannel pajama set in tartan.

“I figured something warm to sleep in would be helpful for this week,” Yuki-san said. “Haruka received one as well.”

Rin looked at the other side of the table, noticing Haru was holding a similar pajama set, only his was obviously in blue tartan.

“Rin,” Haru said, locking eyes with him. “We match.”

* * *

 

Rin had just finished pulling up the bottoms of his new pajama set when his phone started vibrating on the bed.

“Hello, Sousuke?” he asked after he saw his friend’s name on display. 

“Would you kill me if I let your sister touch my biceps?”

“Eh?” Rin sat down on the bed confused before answering. “What are you talking about and yes, I would kill you.”

Sousuke sighed at the other end. “I saw your mom today and she invited me over for Gou’s birthday.”

“She did?” Rin wondered.

“I think it is more because you’re not there and she needs someone tall to hang the decorations,” Sousuke admitted and Rin had to chuckle.

“Could be, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she had invited you anyway, you’ve spent Gou’s birthday with us more times than I could count.”

“Yes but finding a gift for an 8 year old Gou was easier than picking up something for an 18 year old Gou.”

“That is true,” Rin had to agree.

“What are you getting her?” Sousuke asked.

“Ahh,” Rin fell back on the bed. “I got her something with my mom, Gou has been talking about piercing her ears for a while so we got her some earrings and a matching necklace.”

“Should I ask your mom and get her a matching ring?” Sousuke suggested.

Rin frowned. “You are not getting my sister any kind of ring. Get her a plushie or something.”

“You want me to get her a big plushie that she can sleep with?” Sousuke mused.

Rin’s jaw dropped, since when was Sousuke teasing him about  _ Rin’s own sister?  _ “Matching bracelet?” he offered. “I think mom mentioned the store having one that matched the earrings.”

“I’ll talk to your mom tomorrow, then,” his friend said. “So, how was Christmas with your cutie?”

“He’s not my cutie,” Rin objected. “But it was nice, I finally talked with his parents. His dad is nuts over Christmas, I even got a gift from them.”

“Well, that is nice of them. How is Nanase’s mom?”

Rin sighed. “Sousuke, she looks just like Haru. She has this ethereal beauty around her…”

“So, you think Nanase is beautiful?” Sousuke teased.

Rin bit on his lip. “I did not say that,” he pointed out.

“It was implied,” Sousuke continued. “If I said your mom was beautiful and that your sister looks just like her, what would you think?”

“That you’ve talked way too much about my sister lately, is there something I should know?” Rin asked with his serious big brother tone. Not that it would help anyway, he realized months ago that his sister was growing up and it was just a matter of time before she would bring someone home.

Honestly, if Rin had to choose between Sousuke or any of the Mikoshiba brothers, he would have definitely picked his best friend as brother-in-law material.

“Nothing that should concern  _ you, _ ” Sousuke laughed.

“Oi,” Rin objected. “What does that…” A knock on the door interrupted him mid-sentence. “Hold on a second Sousuke, I’m not done with you,” he muttered as he stood up and went to open the door.

“Haru?” he asked, when he saw who was waiting outside.

“Aaaand that is my clue to hang up. Good night Rin, see you next year.”

“Sousuke, wait,” Rin shouted into his phone.

The line was dead.

“Damn it,” Rin cursed as he locked his phone.

“Everything okay?” Haru asked with concerned voice.

“Yeah,” Rin shrugged and went to grab the top of his pajama and started buttoning it up, noticing only then that Haru was also wearing his set.

They really were matching.

“I brought you this,” Haru said then, tossing something at Rin that he barely managed to catch.

“Water?” Rin asked after looking at what he had caught.

Haru shrugged. “You usually sleep with a bottle by your bed,” he offered in explanation.

Rin smiled, actually happy that Haru had caught a detail of him. Although, now that Rin thought about it, Haru usually also had a bottle by his bedside.

“What time would you like to leave tomorrow?” Haru asked then, walking into the room and closing the door behind him.

Rin shrugged. “I don’t know, really. I will probably sleep in since I don’t think I can go for my morning run,” he said, nodding towards the snowy outside.

“We could leave by 8.30?” Haru suggested. “Dad told me about a gym that opens at 9.”

“Works fine for me,” Rin said with a nod, finishing buttoning up his pajama shirt. 

“Good,” Haru slowly nodded and remained still. Rin looked curiously at him, as the other just kept wandering his eyes around the room.

“Anything else?” he asked.

“The zoo and the Ice Pavilion,” Haru suddenly said and Rin blinked in confusion.

“Huh?”

“Mom suggested we could go there in the next days,” Haru explained with a shrug. “To not be stuck here all the time.”

“Sure,” Rin nodded. “Oh, you think we could go skiing one day? I haven’t tried it in years.”

Haru seemed to ponder the option for a second. “I think there is a ski resort near the Ice Pavilion, we could make a day out of it.”

“Good,” Rin grinned. “Sounds like you will have a bunch of dates with me in the next few days, Nanase.”

Haru snorted. “Just like the wooing in your dreams, Matsuoka.”

Rin laughed when there was another knock on the door.

“Huh?” he wondered who was it just as Haru opened the door.

“Mom?” Haru asked.

“Ah, Haruka, you’re here too, good,” she said and stepped inside, leaving the door open. Rin suddenly felt really self-conscious wearing just a pajama in front of her. And what would she think about him and Haru being in his bedroom alone at this hour of the night?

“I will be buying groceries tomorrow, do you boys need anything specific for breakfast?” she asked both of them. “Rin, Haru mentioned you usually have eggs and fruit?”

Rin’s eyes widened; just how many details had Haru picked up about him and why was he sharing it with his mother?

“Ah, please, don’t worry, Yuki-san,” he assured her. “We’re currently off training so I don’t need to follow a too strict diet, as long as it is balanced.”

“He’s right, mom,” Haru said. “Also, we can get the groceries tomorrow morning, just leave me the list.”

“Oh no, you boys are here on a break, I will just go with dad after work,” she objected.

“Really, it won’t be a bother,” Rin agreed with Haru. “Actually, I was thinking…” he said and stopped for a second when he realized both Haru and his mom were staring at him. A pair of those blue eyes were enough to make him feel jiggly kneed, but two? 

_ ‘Damn it, Matsuoka,’  _ he said to himself.  _ ‘Stop acting like an 8 year old, get a grip.’ _

“Since tomorrow we are not doing much, I thought I could make dinner?” he offered. “I would really like to do something to repay you and your husband for your hospitality.”

“But Rin, you are a guest, we invited you,” Yuki-san started. “I cannot let you cook for us.”

“It would really be my pleasure ” Rin insisted.

“We can both cook,” Haru added then. “We won’t really have anything else to do in the afternoon,” he pointed out.

His mom sighed. “Well, it would be nice for once to come home and have dinner without having to cook it first,” she admitted with a smile before looking between both boys. “Are you two sure you won’t mind?”

“We’re sure,” Rin said and Haru agreed.

“Well then, I’ll leave the grocery list and the money on the counter. Okay, Haruka?”

“Yes,” her son replied. 

“But I did want to ask you boys for a favour,” she admitted then, looking almost sheepishly.

“Anything,” Rin said surely.

She looked at him with a gentle smile.

“Take down the decorations in the living room. They’ve been up since the first of the month.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not plan for Haru's dad to be like that but... oh well, I like him.


	3. Day 3: Shopping and Cooking Together

December 26th: Shopping and Cooking Together

 

Rin studied his reflection in the big mirror in front of him, turning his head from side to side to carefully scrutinize every angle.

“What do you think?” he asked as he pulled the curtain open, revealing himself to Haru who was standing in front of the cubicle.

“Don’t you already have something similar?” Haru wondered, tilting his head to the side.

Rin looked down at the black parka he had picked.

“It is similar,” he agreed. “But it is a lot warmer.”

Haru pulled at a loose flap in the front, almost as if judging the amount of fabric hanging. “Isn’t it too big?”

“It’s just a loose fit…” Rin pointed out as Haru plucked at the other side as well, now pulling both flaps open.

“We can both fit in it,” Haru muttered.

“Eeh?” Rin blinked, too surprised to do anything but  watch as Haru stepped even closer to him, their chests pressed together as he sneaked both arms into the sleeves, sliding them down alongside Rin’s.

“Wanna try zipping us up?” Haru asked, his cheek close to Rin’s. Rin suddenly felt glad he was the one facing the mirror and Haru could not see just how much was he blushing.

“Wha-what? I… I will not,” Rin stuttered. “We can’t both fit in it, it will rip!”

“I think we will,” Haru objected, shuffling his feet and pressing even more against Rin.

“Oi, Haru,” Rin muttered. His nose was so close to Haru’s neck that he could smell his scent and for probably the first time he didn’t smell any hint of pool on him. It was the refreshing smell of the body wash Haru must have used in the shower after their gym session. Rin fought the urge to just press his nose behind Haru’s ear to smell more. “Get out,” he muttered in fake annoyance. “I can’t really zip us up with your arms in the sleeves anyway.”

“I still think we would fit,” Haru repeated as he stepped back and Rin could finally breathe normally again.

“So,” he cleared his throat with a cough. “You think I should get a smaller size?”

Haru shook his head. “I think this is the best fit,” he said.

Rin believed him.

Once Rin stepped out of the changing area, his old jacket back on him and his new one folded over his arm, ready to be taken to the cash register, he looked around to find Haru… except Haru was nowhere to be seen.

Rin frowned as he started walking in between the aisles, following an invisible serpentine line and stretching his neck trying to find his friend. He was about to give up and fetch his phone, when a bright sign hanging from the ceiling across the store caught his attention. It was announcing a big end of the year sale, and from the tiny bit Rin could see, that corner looked like it was full of summer attire.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered as he took quick steps towards it and, just as he expected, Haru was there.

“Haru, no,” he said even before seeing that Haru had one pair of jammers in each hand, with three more pairs hanging over his arm.

“Rin…” Haru started and looked at him with what could be only described as sparkly eyes. “Look at these…” he said, showing Rin the two hangers in his hands. There were two pairs of black jammers with the same cut and same design of curly lines stretching down the side, one pair had the lines in purple and the other in red.

“Haru, you don’t need more swimsuits,” Rin muttered.

“But these are for you,” Haru said calmly, waving the black and red pair.

Rin brought his free hand to his forehead, massaging the point between his eyebrows. “Haru, we don’t need to buy swimsuits, we are actually paid to wear them.”

“But they are on sale!” Haru objected almost stubbornly.

Rin sighed. “You’re hopeless, aren’t you?” he admitted defeat and turned towards the cash registers, firmly set on ignoring his companion and just pretending he didn’t know him.

* * *

 

Rin stepped out of the car and shut the door behind him before walking to the back of the vehicle.

“Can you get the groceries?” Haru asked as he opened the trunk. “I’ll take the gym bags.”

“Sure,” Rin said, grabbing two plastic bags in each hand.

“You think your parents will be okay with the hot pot for dinner?” Rin wondered, when they were inside the house and toeing off their shoes.

“We always have it in winter, they will love it,” Haru nodded. “I’ll hang your new coat here, okay?” he said, pulling out Rin’s new wardrobe purchase.

“Sure, thanks,” Rin said, taking all of the groceries to the kitchen.

They divided the work afterwards. Rin took over the cutting up of the vegetables while Haru started on the soup.

“How do you want me to cut these?” Rin asked after finishing chopping up the napa cabbage. He had already prepped the mushrooms, carving a pretty star shape on the shiitake ones, if he could say so himself.

Haru looked up from the pot he was stirring.

“Cut the green onion diagonally,” he said as he stepped away from the stove to rummage through a drawer. “And use this for the carrots,” he put something on the counter near Rin’s chopping board.

Rin looked at what was it and couldn’t stop his snort. “Seriously?” he asked, picking up the small sakura shaped cutter.

“Don’t act like you don’t like it,” Haru commented before returning to the stove.

Rin chuckled and returned to his preparations. After finishing cutting out the very last of the sakura carrots, he neatly arranged all of the veggies and the tofu on a tray Haru had given him earlier.

“Do I put these in the fridge?” he asked, covering the tray with a plastic wrap.

“Yes, please,” Haru said.

After doing that, Rin walked over to the pot, observing Haru’s meticulous stirring.

“How is it?”

“I think it’s fine,” Haru said, ladling a sip of the soup onto a small tasting plate before bringing it to Rin’s lips. “Taste it?” he offered, the ceramic rim almost touching Rin’s mouth.

Rin pulled his head back automatically, his eyes crossing as he looked at the plate in front of him. He lifted a hand to grab the tasting dish; there was no way he was letting Haru feed him.

“It’s good,” he said.

Haru nodded slowly and turned off the gas, covering the pot with a lid and moving it onto a cold burner. He brought a hand to the side of his neck, wincing a bit when his fingers pressed against the skin there.

“What’s that?” Rin asked, noticing the grimace.

“Nothing,” Haru muttered. “I think I pulled a muscle at the gym.”

Rin sighed. “That’s because you never bother properly warming up _all_ of your muscles, like I keep telling you. Especially when we do weight lifting,” he swatted Haru’s hand away. “Let me see,” he stepped closer as he set his fingers to  Haru’s neck, slowly pressing against the muscles underneath. “How does it feel?”

“Sore,” Haru said, his voice not amused as he started to pull away away from Rin’s touch, but Rin stopped him with his other hand firmly placed on Haru’s shoulder.

“It doesn’t feel swollen,” Rin observed, his fingertips still making circling motions. “Put a heat pack on it later, okay? If it still hurts, I have an anti-inflammatory cream with me.”

“Always prepared, hm?”

“When I travel with a stubborn guy who doesn’t listen to advice?” Rin grinned. “Always.”

“Let’s put the decorations away first,” Haru said, ignoring Rin’s teasing. “I will take down the tree, can you take care of the banners?”

* * *

 

Rin finished pulling down the last big letter, making sure there was no tape residue left on the pure white wall. He had taken down the lights around the glass doors already, neatly arranging them back into a box and making sure there would be no knots, as well as folding up the big Santa hats that were covering the backrests of the chairs.

“Is there anything else or can I put this back?” he asked as he climbed down from the small stepladder.

“Did you take down the mistletoe?” Haru asked, not even looking up from his box where he was carefully arranging all the Christmas baubles.

Rin blinked. “There was mistletoe?” he asked.

“Yes, above the door,” Haru said, looking up and nodding towards the door leading from the hallway to the living room. Rin followed his gaze and sure enough, above the doorframe there it was, pale white pearls contrasting with dark green leaves, all tied together with a nice red ribbon.

Rin gulped as a sudden realization crossed his mind.

“Haru,…” he said slowly. “We were standing underneath it last night.”

“I know,” Haru replied calmly, almost like he had been aware of it this whole time. Rin watched him stand and lift the closed box, moving it to the corner before walking to Rin. “And you missed a chance to kiss me,” he pointed out.

Rin didn’t know how to react. Why was Haru even joking about it? Rin was pretty sure that even if he had been aware of the mistletoe, there was no way he would have gone through with the kiss.

Especially not with Haru’s parents being there as well.

Was Haru serious? Could it be he was aware of Rin’s feelings? Could it be Haru actually felt the same?

There was no way. Haru had to be joking, right? It had to be payback for Rin’s own teasing in the kitchen earlier.

Rin was so confused by the turn of events that he didn’t even react when Haru grabbed the ladder and moved it under the doorframe.

“Last chance, Rin,” Haru had already climbed the first step when he called, his voice sounding almost soft to Rin’s ears.

Rin gulped. Either Haru was being serious or Rin was having the weirdest dream since that time he dreamed of Haru being a half-fish when they were in elementary school. He took small steps until he reached the door, stopping just in front of the ladder.

His heart was pounding in his chest, half because maybe Haru was being serious and he actually did want to kiss Rin under the mistletoe, and half because everything still sounded too good to be true and maybe it was all a prank.

But since when was Haru the type of person who would prank others?

Rin looked up, his eyes finding Haru’s soft ones and he was glad that whether it was a prank or not, the very last move was Haru’s because it was Haru who would have to lean down and make their lips touch.

And holy shit, Haru was actually leaning closer.

Rin seriously felt like he was in a movie.

Because there he was, with the object of his affection since his childhood; with the person who helped him most in his darkest moments; with the boy Rin wanted to spend the future – both professionally and personally – with; after all the adventures they went through that seemed to come straight out of a rom com, just when the movie was about to reach the apex scene of their first shared kiss… _they got interrupted._

Rin backed away before Haru’s parents even managed to say “We’re home.”

Rin just looked at Haru, trying to find his eyes, trying to figure out what Haru was thinking and wishing that, for once, he could read Haru’s mind, just like Makoto could. But he couldn’t, and the only thing Rin could do was attempt to decipher why exactly was Haru looking so dissatisfied.

“We have kittens,” Haru’s mom suddenly appeared at the door, with a cardboard box in her arms.

And just like that, as if it really was a movie, the focus moved away from the main characters.

“A colleague of your dad’s was giving away a bunch of them, and we took two,” Yuki-san continued explaining and she walked to the corner of the room where the heater was, putting the box down carefully. “They are sleeping right now,” she said, brushing some invisible dust off her skirt as she straightened. “Since there are two of them, I thought you boys can each name one, would you like that?” she asked, looking between them.

Rin moved closer to look inside the box and sure enough, two balls of fur were curled up together, their chests slowly rising and falling. They were both grey and from how they were laying on each other, Rin couldn’t really see any detail by which he could differentiate them.

“Ah, they are so cute,” he whispered.

Haru appeared on his side, kneeling down to look at the kittens for himself.

“They are,” he agreed, stretching a hand to give one of the kittens a soft stroke with the back of his finger. “Should we name one of them _Chu_? _”_

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know, this chapter is short compared to the previous two. But the next one is over 4.5 k words...


	4. Chapter 4: Meet Obaa-chan and Ojii-chan

December 27th: Meet Obaa-chan and Ojii-chan

 

Luckily, Haru’s grandparents’ house was close to Otaru train station, so the walk there did not require much time, much to Rin’s relief. He and Haru walked two steps behind Yuki-san, their feet slowly trailing through the freshly fallen snow.

Yuki-san took a turn to her left and walked up the stairs in front of a pale blue house.

“Be careful,” she warned the boys. “There might be some ice patches,” she pointed out.

After everyone had safely climbed the stairs, she rang the doorbell and moments later, a silhouette could be seen through the matted glass of the front door.

A visibly older woman appeared, her resemblance with daughter and grandson almost striking. Haru had obviously inherited his grandmother’s eyes, the woman’s long hair was similar to her daughter’s but with more grey and white streaks, all neatly tied into a bun.

“Well, if my eyes are not deceiving me, this is what westerners call a Christmas miracle?” she greeted them with a welcoming smile, before opening the door wide to let them all in.

“Hello, mother,” Yuki-san greeted but truth to be told, her parent was ignoring her to watch Haru instead.

“I see someone found his way up North,” she said slowly as she observed Haru taking off his shoes.

“Hello, Obaa-chan,” Haru said calmly, although there was a hint of humor in his voice and Rin had to wonder if perhaps this was a game he would often play with his grandmother. Either way, it was fascinating to see Haru in the role of a grandson. “How are you?”

“I would be better if my grandson would lean down to give me a hug after not visiting for years. You’re too tall for my poor old back, boy,” she replied in a calm voice, making a chuckle escape from Rin’s lips.

Haru obliged and leaned down, wrapping his arms around his grandmother and getting a hug in return.

“And who did you bring along?” his grandma said then, her eyes falling on Rin for the first time.

“Ah,” Rin straightened his back, suddenly feeling scrutinized. “I’m Matsuoka Rin, Obaa-san,” he introduced himself and bowed. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you,” she smiled at him. “So,” she looked around at her three guests. “Would anyone like a cup of tea?”

* * *

 

“Where is Ojii-chan?” Haru asked as his mother poured tea.

“He went out to look for some magazines,” his grandma replied, almost dismissing the whereabouts of her husband. “He should be back soon. Either way,” she sent a poignant look at her grandson. “Do you have something for me?”

“I do,” Haru replied, and Rin looked curiously at the thick envelope Haru had brought along from home, passing it across the table to his grandmother.

“Let’s see,” the older woman said, pulling a case out of her pocket and opening it. She took out the glasses and put them on her nose, before opening the envelope and looking inside. “Oh, watercolors…” she said after peeking inside. “I think this is a first,” she commented, removing the contents of the envelope.

Rin frowned as he saw what was obviously a painting done by Haru, the subject confusing him, although a small voice in his brain told him he really should not be that surprised.

“Mackerel?” he asked.

Haru’s grandmother smiled as she looked closer at the painting. The colours were nicely blended, the palette of warm shades contrasting the darker stripes of the fish.

“My grandson would always draw me this fish,” she explained. “Yuki,” she turned to her daughter. “Would you pass me the box inside that drawer?” she asked, pointing to a closet across the room.

Once she had what looked like an old cardboard box in front of her, she lifted the lid to reveal a big stack of paper, and it only took Rin a second to realize they were all Haru’s drawings.

Every single one was a mackerel.

“Seriously?” he asked, looking at Haru.

“It started when I was a kid and it became a tradition, I guess.” Haru shrugged. “I would draw a mackerel everytime I came to visit them.”

Rin looked at the pile of paper again. “I really don’t know if I should find it cute or just weird…” he whispered.

“I’m home,” a male voice echoed from the hallway suddenly, everyone’s attention turning to the tall man who appeared at the door.

“Ojii-chan,” Haru called and stood up, immediately going to hug his grandfather.

“Haru-chan,” the man laughed, returning the hug. “You got taller!” He looked around the room, his eyes landing on Rin.

“Nice to meet you, Ojii-san,” Rin greeted, dipping his head again. “My name is…”

“Matsuoka Rin,” Haru’s grandfather interrupted him, surprising Rin. “Am I right?”

Rin blinked stunned. Why did Haru’s grandfather know him?

“Yes,” he nodded. “How do you…?”

“Ah,” the grandfather waved his hand. “I follow Haru-chan’s swimming so I got to know some of the other swimmers as well. You did well at Nationals as well, right? Butterfly and freestyle?”

Rin nodded again.

“He also took Haru to Australia,” Haru’s mom piped in. “Rin-kun used to train there, right?”

“Yes,” Rin confirmed, suddenly self-aware of the amount of things Haru’s relatives knew about him. “But I am stationed in Tokyo now.”

“Nice, nice,” Haru’s grandpa said with a nod and took a seat at the low table.

“Haruka, do you want to go now?” Rin heard Yuki-san’s whisper as she leaned over to her son. He wanted to ask where were they going, _and were they planning on leaving him alone here?,_ but he himself was busy answering Haru’s grandfather’s questions.

“Ah no,” Rin answered. “We were only classmates in elementary school, I went to a different high school.”

“We’ll be right back,” Haru said as he stood up, putting a hand of Rin’s shoulder to catch his attention.  

“Huh… okay,” Rin replied slowly, confused as he watched his friend and his friend’s mother leave the room.

“They are just going to the next room to pray,” Haru’s grandma explained with a smile, apparently noticing Rin’s disoriented look. “Would you like more tea, dear?”

“Ah,” Rin felt more relaxed at the knowledge he would probably not be left alone for a long time, albeit being with Haru’s grandparents was still making him giddy with nerves. “Yes, please.”

“Is this your first time in Otaru?” Haru’s grandma asked.

“Yes,” he nodded and took a sip of warm tea. “Actually, it is my first time in Hokkaido.”

“And how do you find it here?”

“It is beautiful,” Rin said sincerely. “But it is also really cold, I’m not really used to temperatures so low.”

“That is not a lie,” the grandma chuckled. “You should come visit us again in spring, the temperatures will be more to your liking.”

“We’ll see if Haru brings me again,” Rin said with a joke. “So…” He tried to find a topic to keep the conversation going. “Is Haru your only grandson?”

“He is the oldest, but not the only one,” Haru’s grandpa answered. “Our second daughter has two twin boys and a little girl.”

“You have another daughter?” Rin wondered, he never really knew much about Haru’s family, except that his parents had lived in Hokkaido, obviously.

“Two actually,” Haru’s grandma continued, as her husband stood up to rummage through a bookshelf. “Our youngest moved to Okinawa for work.”

“She kind of reminds me of you, Rin-chan,” Haru’s grandpa said as he came back with a thick looking book.

“Pardon me?” Rin asked confused, both by the comparison and by being called _Rin-chan._

“She doesn’t like the cold,” Haru’s grandpa laughed, a chuckle escaping his wife’s lips as well.

“Ah, dear, do you have to do that now?” she asked then, noticing her husband had also brought along scissors, glue and what looked like a brand new glossy magazine.

“Is there any more  perfect time than now, with Haru-chan being in the house?” her husband replied. “I’m pretty sure Rin’s family has one of these as well.”

Rin frowned. “May I ask what it is?”  He pointed at the book, since said object had became the new point of discussion.

Haru’s grandma sighed. “My husband has been cutting out news bits and articles about Haru’s swimming achievements since our grandson was in Elementary school. He even had local papers from Iwatobi shipped up here to not miss anything.”

“Really?” Rin asked surprised. “May I have a look?”

“Please, do,” Haru’s grandpa said, turning the book over so Rin could see it.

Rin carefully opened the cover, the very first page stating Haru’s full name in nice calligraphy and Rin had to wonder who in Haru’s family had such neat brush skills.

Turning the page made him chuckle. There were short articles and written bits about Haru’s first achievements, the pages adorned with actual photos as well, most probably sent by Haru’s parents. Haru’s glare was pictured in every single one of them.

Rin turned another page, recognizing an article he knew. It was the piece narrating the swimming meet where they won their relay, the names of Haru, Makoto, Nagisa and Rin himself bolded. Attached in the corner was the photo they took with the trophy, Rin’s arm wrapped around Haru’s shoulders. The next page featured another relay article and photo, and Rin recognized Makoto, Asahi, and Ikuya in it.

But the next page turn made Rin’s heart drop. The date of the next article was many years later, the piecementioning Haru’s name in the free races and even talking about their disqualification from the relay.

Haru’s grandfather’s book could have had so many more articles if it hadn’t been for Rin ruining it.

Rin felt a familiar feeling settle heavy in  his stomach. The sour taste of guilt spreading through his insides. He  always knew to an extent that he had put a break in Haru’s swimming path, but this was probably the first time he realized just how much of a delay he had he caused. Haru could have already been an Olympian if it hadn’t been for Rin and his stupid ego…

Rin heard Haru and his mother coming back, and he felt Haru’s presence as he sat down by his side again, yet he could not make himself look away from the book in his hands. He wanted to curse himself, he was usually better than this at hiding his nerves.

“You’re looking at grandpa’s book,” Haru commented in a whisper.

Rin nodded, not trusting his voice just yet.

“Rin,” Haru’s voice suddenly sounded concerned. “Is everything okay?” he asked, turning himself a bit and hiding Rin from the others.

“It could…” Rin’s voice trembled, and he had to take a deep breath to calm his voice. He sneaked a glance down the table, Haru’s grandpa was still immersed in the magazine, while Yuki-san and her mother had moved to the kitchen for the moment. He bit on his lower lip and hid both his hands under the table, afraid that his nerves would show. “Haru, there could had been so many more… this book could have been so much longer if it weren’t for me,” he whispered back, hoping that whatever article Haru’s grandfather was reading, was interesting enough to not hear him.

“Rin,” Haru said softly, his voice sounding understanding, and Rin hated it, because he really could not accept how Haru could be so calm with what Rin had done. “I don’t like having this conversation, especially not here,” he said and Rin wanted to object but he gasped instead, feeling Haru’s hand squeezing his own, hidden from everyone else in the room.

“Aha, here it is!” Haru’s grandpa suddenly said just as the women had walked back, and everyone’s attention was back to him. He raised the open magazine in front of him, Rin recognizing it as the end of the year issue of a famous Japanese magazine, listing all the important achievements by national athletes in the past year. “It talks about both Haru-chan and Rin-chan,” he said, putting the magazine down and showing the spread about the National competition in swimming. “It says you two are among the new hopes for our country, congratulations!”

“Congratulations,” his wife and daughter repeated, Yuki-san actually giving them a small clap of her hands.

Rin felt his mouth dry, even if he had been sipping tea for the good part of an hour now. He was not sure he could give any reply without his voice cracking, and he really did not want to break down into tears in the middle of Haru’s grandparents’ living room .

“Thank you,” Haru thankfully replied for him. “We swim the best when we are together. Right, Rin?” he asked, looking at him with kind eyes.

Rin inhaled. “Yes,” he managed to say. “Thank you,” he said, looking around the table, his eyes on Haru the longest.

“Do you have any photos that I could add to this article?” Haru’s grandpa asked.

“Ah,” Rin gasped, realizing he was actually being questioned. “Actually, I think my sister made a full album that day. I will ask her for copies.”

“Then I will make sure to leave some space on the next page,” Haru’s grandpa said with a smile before returning to carefully cutting out the article from the magazine.

“That book,” Haru said then, leaning over with a whisper. Rin felt the chills running up his spine when he felt Haru’s breath tingling his ear. He realized only then that Haru was still holding his hand under the table, his thumb slowly stroking Rin’s palm. “It would have been _shorter_ if it wasn’t for you.”

* * *

 

The plan was for Yuki-san, her sister and their mother to go visit their family grave, while Rin and Haru would be free to mingle around the center of Otaru. So the two boys were now walking down Sakaimachi street, souvenirs and craft shops illuminating the path in front of them.

“Wouldn’t it be better to see the canal now when it is warmer outside?” Rin asked, his fingers cold despite the gloves he wore. They had just stepped out of a music box shop, where Rin had purchased a gift for his mom and he was already missing the warmth of the inside.

Haru shook his head. “Better to do that later.  The spot where mom is picking us up is closer to the canal, too.”

“Let’s go in there,” Rin suddenly said, seeing what looked like another warm shop, a variety of ceramic and glass objects in the window.

“If you are that cold, we can just stop at a cafè,” Haru pointed out as he followed him inside.

Rin clicked with his tongue before replying. “Maybe I want to get a souvenir for myself, have you thought about that?” He loosened the knot of his scarf and removed his gloves, stuffing them in the pockets of his parka. He approached one of the walls, displaying a wide variety of ceramic bowls. “I could get a rice bowl for myself, what do you think?” he asked, his eyes landing on the small tag in front of a bowl. “Or maybe not,” he added. “These are expensive,” he hissed, hoping the shop assistants would not hear him.

“They are handmade and hand-painted, the high price is understandable,” Haru said with a shrug. “If you get a set of two it is cheaper than buying two separate bowls,” he pointed at the shelf nearby. Rin’s gaze fell on a set of two white ceramic bowls, each one decorated with paintings of a flower spreading through one side. One of the bowls was done with a red flower and the other with a blue one.

“Those are nice,” Rin pointed out. “But still too expensive for me, I still need to buy pretty much everything for my kitchen in Tokyo.”

“You’re still not settled in?” Haru asked, sounding surprised.

“I wish,” Rin said. “I’ve been back to Tokyo for less than a month and I had so much training before the break, that I am still eating out of the two plates the tenant before me has left in the apartment.”

“Excuse me,” Haru suddenly called for the attention of one of the shop assistants. “Can we get this set of bowls?” he asked the woman who was already walking towards them.

“Haru,” Rin looked at him with wide eyes. “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting you a housewarming gift,” Haru explained calmly, as he followed the assistant to the register, his wallet already out of his pocket.

“Haaaru,” Rin whined, walking behind me. “Are you crazy? I don’t need two rice bowls, and that ceramic looks so delicate that I would be too afraid to actually use it every day,” he reasoned, trying to stop Haru from doing a crazy thing.

“Then save it for a special occasion,” Haru said, accepting his change from the woman and the small paper bag. The bowls were safely nestled in a cardboard box and Rin was pretty sure he would never take them out of it. Except maybe to put them in a glass cupboard to just show off and collect dust.

“What special occasion would I have in Tokyo?” Rin reasoned and followed Haru outside, cursing when the cold air hit him right into the face. He quickly tightened the scarf around the neck and put his gloves back on.

When he looked up, he saw Haru staring back at him with a serious expression. “Let’s have dinner.”

Rin looked confused. “Now?”

Haru shook his head. “When we are back in Tokyo,” he explained and stepped closer. “Let’s have dinner together once a week. And you can use these,” he said, offering Rin the bag with the newly bought bowls.

“Haru…”

“I won’t expect mackerel,” Haru offered and Rin had to laugh.

“I wouldn’t be cooking it anyway,” Rin said. He bit his lips as he looked between Haru and the bag.

He sighed.

“How do Wednesdays sounds to you?”

* * *

 

Haru was right. Walking down the Otaru Canal later, after the sun had already set had been a way better idea, despite that the temperature had now dropped even lower. But the gas lamps made the whole atmosphere so much more romantic, even more than the Christmas market in Sapporo had been. There were other people walking up and down the promenade by the water, mostly couples, everyone enjoying the nice winter scenery.

“During the year, you can take a cruise up and down this canal,” Haru said.

“Really?” Rin wondered. “Have you ever been?”

Haru nodded. “When I was little, Ojii-chan would take me almost every time I visited for a few days.”

“Speaking of him,” Rin suddenly remembered. “Why did he keep calling me Rin-chan?”

Haru smiled. “He actually calls everyone –chan, he is like Nagisa.”

“I see,” Rin nodded in understanding. “It was a little bit weird at the beginning. But it is nice that he is such a fan of yours.”

“He seems to have become a fan of yours as well,” Haru pointed out.

Rin chuckled. “Your grandma also told me that I should come visit again when it is warmer.”

Haru looked at him, his eyebrows arched with surprise. “Did she?”

Rin nodded.

“What did you say?” Haru wondered.

Rin stopped in the middle of the bridge they were currently crossing to take a photo of the wintery scenery. It took him a second to find the right focus adjustments on his phone camera to capture the light from the lamp against the dark blue sky.

“That we’ll see if you bring me back again,” he answered sincerely. “I mean, I would personally love to come back in spring but I have a feeling this sight here,” he said, pointing at the canal in front of them. The snow was glowing under the warm light of the lamps and there were big flakes of snow that dropped from the sky from time to time. Not enough to need an umbrella, but enough to make it perfect. “Would not be as magic as it looks today, don’t you think so?” he asked, hooking the handles of the two bags he carried onto his wrist so he could grasp the barrier of the bridge.

Haru mirrored him before replying. “I used to hate this day,” he said, taking Rin by surprise and make him frown at the sudden change of tune.

“You used to hate visiting your relatives here?” he asked confused.

Haru shook his head. “No, this day… I hated today’s date.”

“What has December 27th ever done to you?” Rin wondered aloud.

“You don’t remember?” Haru asked genuinely and Rin tried really hard to remember what was so important about today’s date to make Haru so distressed about it.

“It was on the 27th of December that you came back from Australia the first time,” Haru said slowly.

“Oh… _oh.”_ Rin’s eyes widened when he remembered the day. The day he had come back from Australia, heartbroken because nothing had gone according to his plans and dreams.

“Has Sousuke ever told you about the letter?” Haru suddenly asked.

Rin furrowed his brows, unsure. “What letter?”

“You sent him a letter,” Haru explained. “One that was at first written for me.”

Rin’s eyes widened, his heart starting to beat furiously inside his chest. “How do you…”

“He gave me the letter,” Haru said slowly, almost as if aware of what Rin’s reaction would be.

“He _what???”_ Rin shouted, a few people actually turning around to look at them but he didn’t care. It had been years since he wrote that letter at first, and then chickened out from sending it to Haru before rewriting it and addressing it to Sousuke instead. He was not sure exactly what words he had used in it, or what the phrases had sounded like, but Rin remembered what he felt when he scribbled down those words. His hand had been pressing on the mechanical pencil so hard, the lead kept crumbling under the pressure.

And Sousuke had brought the letter to Haru, showing Haru all the insecurities Rin was living with.

“Please, calm down,” Haru said, trying to placate him. “It actually made me happy, when I read it,” he admitted and Rin gulped, not really knowing what to say. “It was after we lost the relay with my middle school team,” Haru continued, turning his head to look back at the water. “I figured that if you were trying your best across the ocean in Australia, I could also give it my all to go back the year after and win with my new relay team. I was admiring you.”

Rin snorted at the irony.

“And I wanted to write you a letter back.”

At that, Rin had to look at Haru. “You did?”

“Yes,” Haru nodded. “I also wanted to give you an omamori with it; I went out to buy one at the shrine but they were sold out… and on my way back home, at the railroad crossing…” his voice lowered and Rin knew what was coming next.

“And at the railroad crossing, we met,” he said, filling the gap that Haru had left hanging in the air. “And the rest is history.”

“Mhm,” Haru agreed before taking his hand from his pocket, a pale blue paper bag contrasting against the black of his gloves. “So, with a delay of six years, I give you this.”

Rin frowned and looked at the package, carefully picking it up and opening it. “An omamori?” He asked, after giving the content a peak. Rin turned the package upside down, the talisman falling onto his palm so he could read the kanji embroidered in the front. “For safe driving?” He read, suddenly laughing.  “Seriously, Haru?” he asked, amused but also almost offended.

Haru shrugged. “I thought it was the best option.”

“Am I really that bad of a driver?” Rin had to ask. They had built up such a weird atmosphere around Haru’s reveal that now he really didn’t know how to react.

Haru bit his lip. “I think we should go, my mom and Auntie should be picking us up soon,” he said, ignoring Rin’s question and turning on his feet.

“Oi, Haru,” Rin gasped and ran after him. “Don’t ignore my question.”

“You’re not a bad driver,” Haru said, without stopping for a second.

“I mean,” Rin continued. “Thanks for the gift, I appreciate it. But it does seem weird… you getting me an omamori for safe driving, when I’ve just moved to Tokyo and you said yourself that you don’t really need to drive in the city.”

Haru remained silent, and Rin got nervous. Why did he have to ruin everything with his mouth? Couldn’t he just shut up for once and accept the gift? Hell, Haru had even given him two gifts in the span of an afternoon that had turned out to be pretty magical and Rin just _had_ to ruin everything.

They arrived at an empty car park, the place where Haru had said they would meet his mother and aunt.

“You’re not a bad driver,” Haru repeated, his face glowing under the streetlamp and Rin noticed his cheeks were tinted red. “I know there were other omamori that would be more appropriate, but…” he took a deep breath. “I did not want to give you one for achievements, because you are a great swimmer, Rin. And I believe…” he stopped to bite on his lower lip for a second. “No, I _know,_ you will succeed in swimming, with or without an amulet.”

“Haru,” Rin opened his mouth, not really knowing what to say. He hadn’t seen his friend so wound up in months and he could not understand why was Haru acting in such a weird way.

“And,” Haru ignored him and continued talking. “I… wanted to give you an omamori for happiness but I would prefer if you would let _me_ make you happy.”

Rin felt the chills and for the first time in four days, they were not caused by the cold. His heart was beating faster than Rin had ever felt it beating, his hands were trembling and he felt his eyes were on a brink of pouring over with tears.

Because there was no way Haru had just…

“Haru,” Rin said, although he was not really sure there was any sound coming out of him. “You did not… you did not just…” The bare thought was so surreal, Rin had problems even voicing the possibility.

“The word you’re looking for is confessed,” Haru suggested, a slight tint of nerves in his voice.

A honk startled them and a family car turned into the park, two women sitting in the front seats.

“Of course,” Rin muttered. He wasn’t really sure if he wanted to count the arrival of their ride as a curse or a blessing, his mind still dizzy from the revelations of the last hour as he and Haru entered the car, sitting in the back seats.

He was barely aware of the talking going on in the vehicle, not really registering the last sights of Otaru as the car drove towards the highway. They had probably been on the road for an hour, when he realized he was being called.

“Rin-kun?” Yuki-san called him. “You’re not asleep, are you?”

“Ah, no,” Rin said, leaning between the two seats to look at Haru’s mom. “I was just lost in thought, sorry.”

Yuki-san smiled. “I was wondering how did you like Otaru today?”

Rin bit his lip. “It was beautiful,” he said sincerely. “Full of pleasant surprises,” he added, sneaking a glance at Haru. The corner of his mouth was tilted slightly upwards, and he was looking at Rin as if waiting to hear more.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Yuki-san said with a smile. “Will you listen to my mom’s suggestion and come back in spring sometime?”

Rin didn’t miss a beat before replying. He grinned and looked at Haru, locking eyes with him.

“I think I will.”

  



	5. Day 5: A Day at the Zoo... with Kids

December 28th: A Day at the Zoo... with Kids

 

Rin woke up feeling rested…  and giddy feeling in his stomach. He unlocked his phone, checking the time and realizing he had slept way more than the previous two days. He was tempted to open his contact list and call Sousuke, telling him what had happened the previous evening in Otaru.

Haru had confessed. Haru had confessed  _ to Rin.  _ And Rin had replied… kind of. 

Rin frowned as he sat up on the mattress, the thick blanket falling from his chest. He did reply to Haru, right? Haru had to understand what did Rin meant in the car… 

So they were technically dating… , weren’t they?

He got up, not really bothering to change out of his pajamas yet – he knew Haru’s parents had gone to work by this time and as far he knew, they had no  other plans for the day.

Rin’s mind wandered through all the possible scenarios: they could spend the morning watching a movie cuddled up on the couch, then after lunch they could go for a walk in the snowy countryside – maybe Haru’s parents had a sled they could use, before coming back and warming up under the kotatsu in the living room, sipping tea and eating tangerines that they would have peeled for each other. 

Rin walked down the stairs, a smile on his lips when he noticed that Haru was standing just at the bottom, one of the two kittens in his arms.

“Good morning,” he said softly, making Haru look up at him.

“Good morning, Rin,” Haru greeted back.

Rin stopped on the last step. He reached out, stroking beneath the kitten’s cheek with the back of his finger. He noticed the white front paw, recognizing the kitten as the one Haru had named.

“I still can’t believe you named one of the cats Saba,” he said with a sigh.

Haru huffed and slightly turned his torso, making Rin lose touch with the soft fur. “Says the one who named the other cat Same.”

“I had to make him match his sister,” Rin said, as he followed Haru down the hallway to the living room, noticing only then an odd noise coming out of it.

He did a double take when he looked inside, not really knowing what to make of the sight in front of him. There were two boys in the room, not older than seven years, yelling at each other and fighting with swords cut out of cardboard. In pure contrast, in the corner, he saw a little girl wearing a cute red dress. She was facing away from them so Rin could only see the pretty braid falling down a side of her head, as the girl played with Same.

“Haru-nii!” the boys yelled when they saw Haru had returned. They ran to them, both of them excitingly bouncing on their feet.

Rin just kept looking between them, realizing that the two boys had to be twins.

“Is this your friend?” the one on the left asked.

“Is he finally awake?” his brother asked.

“Can we go now?” they asked together, their voices blending in a high pitch.

“Haru…” Rin called, mildly concerned. This was not what he had imagined to do first thing in the morning.

“They all are my cousins, Auntie Tsukino’s kids,” Haru explained calmly.

“I am Ken!” the boy on the left shouted suddenly, lifting his arm high above him.

“And I am Ryo!” his twin continued, mirroring the first boy and raising his hand.

“The girl over there is Aya-chan!” they shouted in unison, pointing their free hand to the little girl who acknowledged their presence only then.

“Ah,” Rin looked between all three kids, realizing they were the three cousins of Haru his grandparents had talked about. “Nice to meet you all, my name is Matsuoka Rin…”

“Rin?” Ken interrupted him, tilting his head to the right.

“Isn’t that a girl’s name?” Ryo asked, tilting his head to the left,  _ obviously. _

“It is,” Rin said, throwing a glance at Haru who was miserably failing at hiding a chuckle. “But I am a boy,” he explained. “Also, your older cousin here is called Haruka, that is a girly name, too.”

Haru coughed then, not really doing a great job at hiding another laugh. “Why don’t you boys go get ready? We will leave soon.”

“Yes!” the boys yelled and ran out of the room, leaving their cardboard weapons behind them on the floor. 

“Where are we going, exactly?” Rin asked.

“To the zoo,” Haru explained as he bent down to let Saba go so he could pick up the two swords. “Auntie Tsukino asked me yesterday to take them, and since we already planned to go I thought it would be okay?”

Rin sighed, mentally seeing all the images of him and Haru bursting like soap bubbles.  “Does she have a twin?” he asked, looking at the little girl who was now playing with both kittens.

“No,” Haru said, shaking his head.

“Can I look after her and you look after her brothers?” Rin asked, not really exaggerating. He had spent just five minutes with the twins but he already knew they would manage to drive even Momotarou insane. 

Haru kept a smile on his face as he walked across the room. “And just so you know,” he said, as he turned to look at Rin. “Ken is actually Ryo, and Ryo is Ken. They like to switch names and confuse people,” he looked amused when he saw Rin’s reaction. 

“Seriously?” Rin asked, almost helpless.

“Ryo has a small mole under his left eye, that’s how we differentiate them,” Haru said before kneeling down to get on eye level with the little girl.

“Aya-chan, we are about to leave for the zoo,” he called her.

She pouted and looked up at him. “Can we take the kittens with us?”

“I’m afraid we can’t,” Haru answered. “I don’t think they will let us in with them.”

Aya-chan frowned. “But it is a zoo, how can they not let animals in?” she asked sincerely, and Rin laughed. 

The little girl glared at him before turning back to her cousin. 

“I don’t want to leave them alone, what if they get hungry?” she asked.

“We will leave them plenty of food,” Haru explained. “And my parents are coming back earlier from work, so they won’t really be alone for long, okay?”

Aya-chan sighed. “Okay,” she said, standing up and giving the two kittens a sad look.

“Hey, Aya-chan,” Rin said then with a kind voice, trying to cheer the little girl up. “We are about to go see many other animals like lions and tigers and wolves…”

She looked up at him, her lower lip sticking out in a pout. 

“Haru-nii,” she turned to Haru, raising her arms up.

Haru smiled and picked her up. “What is it?” he asked as the little girl rested her head in the nook of his shoulder. She slowly lifted her hand, extending a finger as she pointed at Rin.

“I don’t like him.”

* * *

 

Aya-chan really did not like Rin. And he wasn’t sure why, but it annoyed him. Maybe it was because he felt too proud to being disliked by a four-year-old, or because  Rin had to keep an eye on her brothers since she was always attached to Haru’s hip,and that was a challenge that made even Samezuka’s training from hell look like a breeze.

“She hates me,” Rin said as they walked through the Penguin Tunnel. “And I don’t know why.”

“She doesn’t hate you,” Haru said calmly, looking around them. “But you talked excitedly about beasts that she is afraid of, which kind of put her off.”

Rin frowned. “Well, I could not know that,” he said.

“Your teeth are probably not helping,” Haru added amused.

Haru and Aya entered the Seal House way before them, as Rin slowly dragged his feet behind the twins who kept walking like penguins since they visited the animals.

But Rin was not hating being there, despite all the babysitting duties that had been dumped upon them. Walking through the glass tunnel and being surrounded by penguins swimming had been amusing, and their way of swimming really did remind Rin of Nagisa.

They eventually reached the Seal House, joining Haru and Aya. Rin found Haru looking at a window in the corner, while the little girl was in front of a big pillar water tank, her small hands resting against the glass.

Rin stood behind her, trying to look down the glass, into the floor. He saw a dark spot moving and before any of them knew it, a big seal swam through the tank, startling both Rin and Aya-chan, who stumbled backward until her back hit Rin’s leg.

“Are you okay, Aya-chan?” Rin asked, wondering if maybe the girl got scared by the animal.

She looked up at him with big eyes that widened even more when she saw who was behind her. 

“Haru-nii…” she said slowly, and looked around, her small braid moving on the side of her head.

“He is over there with your brothers,” Rin said, pointing to the left. He saw another movement in the tank from the corner of his eyes and looked up. “Oh,” he said surprised before stretching his lips in a grin. “Look here, Aya-chan.”

Another seal had entered the pillar tank, this one definitely smaller than the previous one. Swimming in spirals instead of shooting through it, the animal was now at eye level with Rin, the seal’s dark eyes looking through the glass.

“I want to see,” Aya-chan said, tugging on Rin’s pants. 

Without thinking, he picked her up, lifting her so they were both at eye level with the small seal, the animal now swimming in circles again.

“He is cute, isn’t he?” Rin asked and looked at the girl, who nodded with a beaming smile.

The seal eventually left the tank and Rin put the girl back down, who quickly ran towards Haru. Rin was too far away to hear what she was telling him as Haru picked her up, but her eyes were big and her arms were flailing as she pointed at Rin. 

Rin chuckled.

Maybe she hated him less.

* * *

“Can we have ice-cream later?” Ryo asked, his mouth full of rice.

They had entered an indoor rest area, finding an empty table where they could sit down and eat the lunch Haru’s mom had prepared.

“It is too cold,” Haru said, opening a lunch box in front of Aya-chan who was sitting in his lap. He passed her a small kiddie fork, so she could start eating before moving to open his and Rin’s lunches. Meanwhile Rin was stabbing three juice boxes with straws before passing them to each of the kids. 

“Hot chocolate then?” Ken suggested, leaning over the table excitedly, a piece of eggroll flying out of his mouth and landing straight onto his sister’s head.

“Eww,” Aya-chan shrieked and dropped her fork. Her hand moved to her head but stopped short of actually touching her hair as her eyes quickly welled up with tears.

“Ken-chan,” Haru admonished his cousin with stern voice as Rin promptly moved by his side. He took a napkin and soaked it with some of the water from his bottle.

“It’s okay, Aya-chan, I got this,” he said calmly. He removed the food from her hair and untied her braid, picking out every yellow bit of egg and wiping her dark locks with the napkin.

“My braid,” Aya-chan wailed even more, seeing her hair-tie with two star charms on the table in front of her.

“Don’t worry,” Rin shushed her with a soft voice. “I can redo it,” he assured her, already splitting her hair into three sections and starting to interweave them.

“You know how to braid?” Ryo asked.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Rin admonished him. “But yes, I can braid hair,” he said, taking the tie from the table and finishing his work. “There you go, just like new.”

Aya-chan carefully took the braid in her hand, moving it in front of her face so she could try to look at it.

“What do you say, Aya-chan?” Haru asked.

Aya-chan looked back at Rin with clear eyes, the tears already gone. “Thank you,” she said with a grin.

Rin smiled back. “You’re welcome,” he said. “Having a younger sister has its perks,” he added, looking at Haru.

“Haru-nii,” Aya-chan suddenly said, looking up at her cousin.

“Yes?”

“Can I sit in Rin-nii’s lap?”

* * *

 

They got the kids hot chocolate and then went back to the petting area, where the kids could play with the animals since neither Haru nor Rin was looking forward to driving in a car with three kids on a sugar high.

The two of them were sitting on a bench nearby, keeping an eye on  Haru’s cousins as they finally enjoyed a quiet moment.

“You know,” Rin said, taking a sip of coffee from the can in his hand. “They are actually kind of cute, all three of them,” he admitted, watching the kids kneel around the small fence. Aya-chan had walked straight to a cat the second she saw the animal.

“Yeah,” Haru agreed before he looked at Rin. “You’re not that bad either,” he teased before standing up and walking to the kids.

“It is getting late,” he said. “We should go home.”

“Awwww, do we have to?” Ken complained, his twin showing the same upset face.

“Yes,” Haru said.

Meanwhile, Aya slowly walked towards where Rin was standing and waiting for them.

“Are you tired, Aya-chan?” he asked, noticing her eyelids were slowly drooping.

The little girl just nodded, not bothering to hide a big yawn.

The boys and Haru joined them and they slowly made their way to the exit.

“Does anyone need the bathroom?” Haru asked, as they passed the restrooms near the exit.

“I do!” the twins shouted once again in unison and Rin and Haru shared a glance.

“I’ll go with them, you two can go ahead and meet us at the car?” Haru suggested.

“Sure,” Rin assured him, and took the bag of souvenirs from Haru’s hand.

“Aya-chan, give Rin your hand, okay?” Haru said to the little girl and she nodded again, offering her small hand for Rin to take.

They split their ways, and Rin and Aya-chan started to walk towards the exit gate, when Rin felt a weight pulling his arm down.

“Aya-chan, is something wrong?” he asked concerned, kneeling down to look at the girl that had stumbled upon her feet.

“Sleepy,” she just said, her head dropping down.

Rin smiled sympathetically at her, it had been a long day for everyone, and Haru even mentioned they were skipping her afternoon nap. 

“Come on,” he said, lifting her in his arms. He felt her head dropping on his shoulder, her breath slightly tickling the side of his neck.

Only when they reached the car, Rin realized that Haru had forgotten to give him the keys so he just leaned against the side of the vehicle.

“Did you have fun today?” he asked but there was no response from the little girl. Rin moved his head carefully, turning slightly to look at her.

She was sound asleep.

* * *

 

They had stopped at Haru’s aunt’s house to drop off the kids and even had ramen for dinner on their way back, but the house was still dark when they returned, Haru’s dad’s car missing from its parking spot in the front.

“Well,” Rin said as he unbuckled his seat. “Today was definitely not what I was expecting it to be when I woke up.”

“What did you have in mind?” Haru wondered, unbuckling as well but not showing any plan to leave the car.

“I…” Rin bit his lip. “Let’s say I had thought we would be alone for at least five minutes at some point during the day.”

“We are alone  _ now, _ ” Haru pointed out.

Rin turned his head to look at him. “I think I am about to fall asleep as fast as Aya-chan before I could make any kind of move on you.”

Haru smiled and leaned over, bringing their faces close. 

“I could be the one making a move on you,” he said slowly.

Rin chuckled. “And I would not be stopping you.”

Haru gave him a side-eye. “I don’t think you would want our first kiss to be in my mom’s car, am I wrong?”

“Not what I have imagined, I admit it,” Rin agreed with a laugh.

“What would you want our kiss to be like?” Haru asked then, surprising Rin.

“Promise you won’t laugh?” Rin asked, turning in his seat so he could face Haru better.

Haru snorted. “I kind of have an idea what your answer is going to be, but yes, I promise I won’t laugh.”

Rin smiled, knowing perfectly well what was Haru thinking. “Under a cherry tree in full bloom.”

Haru chuckled. “As I thought,” he said, shaking his head, amused.

Rin grinned back. “But I don’t really feel like waiting four more months to kiss you,” he said with a low voice.

“Neither do I,” Haru admitted before he leaned over to grab something from the back. “I got you something at the Zoo,” he said, almost breaking the soft atmosphere between them.

“Ah, me too, actually,” Rin said, opening the backpack between his feet. He had somehow managed to buy it in secret, without being spotted by Haru or any of the kids.

“Here,” they said together, each offering the other the same type of cardboard box.

Rin was the first one to break into a laugh, Haru following with a chuckle. They had obviously gotten the same idea to buy each other a mug.

“You think we got the same design as well?” Rin asked, taking the box from Haru’s hand.

“Only one way to find out,” Haru said, fumbling with the buttons on the roof until he turned on the light, bathing the inside of the vehicle in a warm yellow glow.

“You first,” Rin said, waiting for Haru to open the box and pull out the mug. Haru looked at the design with a frown before turning it towards Rin.

“A hippo?” he asked confused.

Rin chuckled. “It was the only animal fully in water,” he reasoned.

“Thanks,” Haru said and put the mug back in the box. “Your turn,” he said, urging Rin to open his own box.

Rin pushed his thumb into the slit of the box, lifting the top lid and revealing the mug inside. It looked just like the one he bought Haru but the design had to be different, why would Haru get him a hippo one?

“A red panda?” he asked, puzzled when he saw a few drawings of the animal printed on the side of the mug.

Haru nodded. “This one,” he said, pointing at the red panda in the middle. “It has the same expression as you,” he explained. “Even the teeth are sharp like yours.”

Rin had to laugh, as silly as it was, Haru’s reasoning made some sense.

“Thank you,” Rin said with a sincere smile, carefully putting the mug back into the box.

Haru was still looking at him when he glanced up.

A different kind of light reflected inside of the car and the two boys looked through the back window to see Haru’s parents were finally returning home.

Rin was about to say they should get out when he felt a pair of lips against his cheek, the corner of Haru’s mouth actually touching Rin’s own.

Haru pulled away and looked at him with soft eyes. “For until we think of something better than the cherry tree.”

  
  



	6. Day 6: Road Trip with the Parents

December 29th: Road Trip with the Parents

 

Rin was feeling drowsy. Not that bad type of drowsiness, that catches you in the middle of something important and you have to fight with all your strength to power through it. It was the good kind, the one that wraps you in a warm hug when you wake up, inviting you to stay in the land of dreams just a little bit longer. And Rin’s land of dreams was warm, made of fluffy blankets and with Haru by his side.

“Rin?” A soft voice called him, and he whined in reply. He was happy where he was, snuggled in between soft pillows and the image of his boyfriend.

“Rin…” the voice called again and Rin lifted an eyelid, just to send a glare to whoever was disturbing his happy place. An annoying cold sensation hit his nose… air had breached his cocoon.

“Nngh,” he muttered back, seeing Haru above him, his hand pulling down the blanket to expose Rin’s face to the cold morning air.

Haru was sitting on his bed, his expression visibly amused by what could only be Rin’s distressed morning face. “Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning,” Rin replied, releasing a big yawn from his lungs. He smacked a hand over his face, trying to remove some of the sleepiness from his eyes. “Please tell me we are not on any babysitting duty today,” he sighed, dropping on his back and trying to wiggle his escaped arm back into the warmth of the blanket, except it got caught by Haru’s arm.

“Don’t worry, no kids,” Haru reassured him, squeezing his fingers. “We have other plans, so get up.”

Haru’s words made Rin’s ears prick up, and he finally opened both eyes. “What have you planned?” he asked curiously. Finally they were going to spend a day just lazing out and cuddling-

“We’re going to Ikea with my parents.”

* * *

 

They left the city behind them and had been driving on the highway for half an hour, but Rin had yet to see any sign for the furniture store.

“Ah, I’m so glad we can finally do this today,” Yuki-san said happily from the front seat. “Are you looking forward to it, Rin-kun?”

“Sure…” Rin answered, unsure. What was the excitement in going shopping?

“Have you ever been to one?” Haru’s dad asked him.

“Umm, a few times in Australia, I guess,” he answered. He had definitely gone there to buy some cheap furniture for his apartment.

“I think they are normally more numerous in a big city like Sydney,” his wife nodded.

“Yes,” Rin agreed, although he kept feeling weird about the conversation they were having. “I think the whole Sydney area has three or four of them?”

“Oh, really?” Haru’s dad sounded surprised. “I would have expected there to be more…”

“You know what, darling?” Yuki-san said, turning to her husband. “We should get something for Rin’s mother.”

“I think that would be a great idea,” the man agreed.

Rin frowned. Why would they get anything for his mother from Ikea? “Ah, please, don’t stress yourself, I already got my mother a music box from Otaru…”

“But I would very much like to send her something myself,” Yuki-san explained. “Can you think of something she could enjoy?”

Rin bit his lip. “Well, she did mention wanting a new set of glasses, but I think it would be too fragile for the trip back,” he reasoned.

“Glasses, you say?” Yuki-san repeated in a wondering tone. “I was thinking more of a special wine, like the Yamazuki ice wine. Or does she not drink alcohol?”

Rin’s confusion grew even more.

“Oi, Haru,” he whispered, taking the chance while Haru’s parents discussed which turn to take. “Where did you say we were going?”

“We’re going to Ikeda,” Haru replied with calm voice. “For wine tasting.”

* * *

 

Ikeda, as Rin found during the rest of the trip, was a small town in the Nakagawa district, located on the east side of Hokkaido. It was famous for wine making and as it turned out, Haru’s parents had wanted to go to a tasting for a while now… and now that their son was both equipped with a driving license and in Hokkaido, it was the perfect time for them to go without worrying about the drive back.

“And now…?” Rin asked, as they watched Haru’s parents head into  the wine castle where the tasting would take place. They were supposed to be picked up in a couple hours, until then the two boys were free.

“Well,” Haru said as he adjusted the rearview mirror before typing something into the GPS navigator. “My parents actually made a reservation for us at a restaurant, so we’re going there first. Are you hungry?”

Rin looked at the time on the dashboard. They had been on the road for over four hours now and Rin had only had a slice of toasted bread for breakfast. “I could go for some food, I guess.”

Haru turned on the engine. “Dad said the place has really good beef.”

“I could definitely go for some meat,” Rin said with a grin.

Haru switched gears and watched the rearview but instead of smoothly moving back, the car made a sudden jump forward before the engine turned off.

“What…” Haru asked confused, turning the keys again.

Rin laughed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” he asked.

“It’s okay,” Haru muttered and switched gears again. “I am just not used to driving dad’s car,” he mumbled, this time managing the reverse drive smoothly.

“I was just offering, you’ve been driving the whole time here…” Rin teased.

“Do you really want to drive my father’s car on snowy roads?” Haru asked, following the directions from the GPS and turning left.

Rin bit his lip. He knew he was a good driver, better than Haru, yet there was something about the idea of driving on frozen roads that made him unsure about his own skills… Maybe he could let Haru be the designated driver for the time being, and take over the steering wheel once they were back in Tokyo.

“So,” Rin coughed, trying to act nonchalant. “What was the name of the restaurant, again?”

* * *

 

“I just don’t understand it,” Rin repeated for probably the tenth time in the better part of an hour and half.

Haru sighed and killed the engine as they arrived at a different part of Ikeda. “Why it is so hard to understand? You know I always prefer seafood,” he said as he left the car.

“I know that,” Rin said, joining him as they walked up a shoveled path between banks of snow, leading up to a small store. “But that beef was A5 quality, yet you picked shrimp tempura.”

Haru shrugged. “I felt like eating shrimp.”

“You’re weird,” Rin muttered.

Haru rolled his eyes and stopped in front of the entrance to the store, opening the door  and letting Rin go first. “That’s why you like me, right?”

Rin snorted and looked around the place for the first time.

“Hey, Haru…” he asked, noticing the dipping cabinets inside the shop. “Why are we having ice cream in December?”

“Because Ikeda is known for three things. The wine we can’t drink, the beef you just had, and the ice cream.”

* * *

 

“It’s not bad,” Rin said, taking another spoonful from the cup in front of him. It was a little weird eating a frozen treat when the temperature outside was below zero, but the store itself was pleasantly warm. “What did you get, again?” he asked, pointing at Haru’s cup.

“Matcha,” Haru replied, dipping his spoon into the green cream and lifting it to Rin’s lips. “Wanna taste?”

Rin blushed and looked around nervously. “I am not letting you feed me in public,” he muttered, taking the small spoon from Haru’s fingers

“So I can feed you when we are alone?” Haru asked with a straight face, taking the spoon from Rin’s cup to try the strawberry flavor.

Rin choked on the ice cream melting in his mouth. “Haru,” he said, checking once again that no one was listening to them. He kicked Haru’s foot under the table. “Ask me that when we’re  alone,” he whispered back with a wink. If Haru could tease him, so could he, right?

“Let’s go for a walk,” Haru suggested after scraping off the very bottom of his cup.

Rin looked outside of the window they were seated at. “Are you crazy?” he asked. “It is almost dark and it even started snowing,” he said, pointing at the small flakes they could see dropping from the sky.

“I know,” Haru said. “Let’s go.”

* * *

 

Rin was absolutely not surprised by the fact they did not see any other person outside during their walk. Night had come, and even if the path they took was cleared, fresh snow was falling and the temperature was way below zero.

It was still very romantic, in his opinion. Just like from a Christmas movie, where the two lovebirds would stroll down a path, hand in hand and looking at each other with loving eyes.

Except that in the movies it was never that cold. Rin’s hands were pressed deeply into his pockets and his eyes could barely see anything through the scarf he had wrapped high around his face. He pulled the hood of the parka over his head, wondering in first place how he managed to forget to bring along an actual hat.

“Let’s go here,” Haru said, grabbing by Rin’s elbow and almost making him slip on the snow.

“Huh?” Rin looked in the direction Haru was pointing. “You’re joking, right? I’m not walking off the path, we will get our pants wet,” he said, trying to reason with Haru but the other kept pulling on his arm.

“Come on,” Haru urged him, pulling now with both hands. “It is just a couple of steps.”

“If we end up catching pneumonia just in time for New Years…” Rin grumbled but let himself be drawn ahead.

“The faster we move, the faster we can go back to a warm place,” Haru said, shuffling through the snow until they reached a bare, old looking tree. He stopped there and turned around, leaning his back against the bark.

“And now what?” Rin asked, looking around and noticing that indeed, they were still the only two idiots outside.

Haru simply took Rin’s hands into his, pulling him forward until Rin stumbled, crashing against his chest.

“I might be wrong,” Haru said and tilted his head. “But I’m pretty sure this is a cherry tree.”

“Oh…” Rin’s eyes widened and he looked up as well, as if the branches above them could confirm it.

“And if you use some imagination, we can pretend the snowflakes around us are cherry blossoms,” Haru continued, his voice sounding softer now.

Rin had to smile at the realization dawning on him. “ _Oh,_ are they now?” he teased, leaning his forehead against Haru’s.

Haru smiled back and lifted one hand to pull down enough of Rin’s scarf to reveal his mouth. “You don’t think so?”

“I’m more wondering if you planned this beforehand or you just happened to see this tree from the store,” Rin mused.

Haru’s hand tangled in Rin’s scarf to pull him closer, until their lips were touching… _almost._

“If I had, I would have bought a sakura scented lip balm,” he said, before closing the distance.

And then it was happening. Rin felt like bells were ringing in his ears, as he finally touched Haru’s lips with his own. He inhaled through his nose, freezing air entering his lungs but he didn’t really care, because on the inside he was _melting_. Every fiber in his body was tingling and he blindly managed to remove one of his gloves, his fingers moving hastily to find Haru’s face and keep that feeling going. He stroked Haru’s cheek with his thumb, feeling Haru pressing closer and parting his lips just a bit.

When they pulled apart and Rin opened his eyes, he saw Haru still kept his eyelids closed. His lips were stretched in a smile and when he finally revealed his eyes, they were shining with something Rin had never seen before.

He leaned in for another kiss, when a cold gush of wind blew past them, making both of them gasp in shock.

“Let’s go,” Haru suddenly said, grabbing onto Rin’s still bare hand. “We’re not catching pneumonia just to make out in the snow.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was short, too. I'm sorry. Hopefully tomorrow I will manage to fit in all the moments that were supposed to happen in this chapter.


	7. Day 7: The First Date

December 30th: The First Date

 

Rin started having second thoughts about the visit the moment he was offered a different coat.  He hadn’t really started enjoying the cold in the last few days, but he was slowly getting used to it and he learned to just put on a second pair of socks every time Haru suggested outside activities. Not to mention the amount of money they had both spent in pocket warmers.

When Rin first heard about the Hokkaido Ice Pavilion, he thought it would be more like a building where you could play in the snow and admire snow sculptures all year round, but he was wrong. Really wrong.

After putting on matching coats, he and Haru followed the path down a mirror maze tunnel until a door slid open, and welcomed them into a magical world of white ice.

-20 degrees suddenly didn’t feel that bad, either because the loaned coat was perfect for that place, or because Rin managed to forget about the cold when he was too busy taking in his surroundings. The place was… beautiful. It looked like a cave, with sharp looking stalactites falling from the ceiling, but everything was made of ice and the soft colored lights used in the room made the white colour pop brightly.

They continued their walk among the icy surroundings, taking a right turn to see two snowmen standing on the side.

“Do you think they change their outfits daily?” Rin asked, looking at the bright scarves.

“Could be,” Haru answered as he started spinning the wet towel they were given at the entrance. “Huh, look,” he said, lifting said object in front of them, “It really froze solid.”

Rin’s eyes widened when he saw the wet piece of cloth standing straight in Haru’s hand. He quickly spun his towel, instantly getting the same result.

“Heh,” he laughed. “We can fight now,” he said, making his towel clash against Haru’s in a makeshift sword fight.

Turns out fighting with frozen cloth was not the only silly thing they could do inside, as they later made a race of who could be faster at hitting a nail into a piece of wood using a frozen banana instead of a hammer.

But the room that Rin was mostly looking forward to visit was the one they were about to enter. It was something Rin had heard about and he had hoped to experience it himself on his own, but so far he hadn’t had any luck. Fortunately, in the artificial world of the pavilion, it was easy to see them. The little specks of mist in the atmosphere, freezing immediately and shining all around them, just like –

“Diamond dust…” Rin whispered, as he took in the glistening air surrounding them, just like the stars they would see during a summer night in Iwatobi.

“It’s beautiful…” Haru agreed, looking around the room for himself.

“You think it will show on a photo?” Rin asked, taking out his phone and struggling to unlock it with his hand wrapped in thick gloves, also courtesy of the ice pavilion. He gave up and bit on a finger, pulling off the glove and making a quick work of entering his passcode and turning the camera on. He fumbled with the settings and took a first shot. It was not perfect, but it could work.

“Do you see any security cameras?” he wondered as he looked around. So far they had been alone on their visit, mainly just hearing some kids laughing far ahead of them.

“I don’t know…” Haru said, looking around the alcove for revealing red lights.

Rin grinned as a daring feeling ran through him, he pulled the hood of the coat over his head and walked to Haru’s side in one quick step, the hand holding his phone already stretched out as he spun Haru around so they were standing in front of the clearest mist to see.

It lasted just a moment, just a quick peck on Haru’s cheek and an even faster press of the button before Rin was taking a step back, grinning at his final result. The photo was a bit tilted, but it was easy to fix. There was a lock of hair falling down his forehead, and he was barely recognizable from the tiny bit of face the hood was showing, but Haru’s surprised expression was fully centered and in perfect focus.

In less than two seconds, Rin made it his new background image.

“Want to take one from my phone?”

Rin looked up to see Haru holding out his own phone, his hood also lifted over his head.

Somehow, it took them a little bit longer to make a perfect photo with a shining dusty background and a liplock.

* * *

 

“Tell me again why we did that,” Rin said as they were finally out of the cold chambers, the free cup of hot tea doing nothing to warm him up. Not when he and Haru had dared each other to try staying under the freezing -41 degrees Celsius wind for over a minute.

“People in love do stupid things,” Haru muttered, pressing his empty cup against his nose.

Rin looked up from where he was cuddled up in a ball on his chair. “They do, I guess,” he said.

Haru sent him a smile and kicked his feet under the table. “Are you still up to go skiing after lunch?”

Rin sighed. It was something he was hoping to get done during this trip, but so far their days had been busy with other plans. And he knew they were close to a nice ski resort but… “Do you have another suggestion?”

Haru shrugged. “I have a _warmer_ suggestion.”

* * *

 

Rin sighed in bliss. This was what he had been dreaming about.

Haru’s suggestion had turned out to be nothing exceptional. Just driving back home, taking a scorching shower and staying inside under the kotatsu for the rest of the day. So, while Haru went for a full soak in the bath downstairs, Rin went to his room for a hot shower before walking down to the living room, settling down under the kotatsu with a lap full of two kittens.

Rin hadn’t felt this warm in days, and he loved it. He threw his head back, leaning against the couch and closing his eyes, petting a kitten with each hand.

“Are you asleep?”

Rin opened one of his eyes, seeing just the back of Haru as the other sat down by his side, sliding his legs under the table.

“Almost,” Rin whispered slowly, dropping his head to rest against the cushion of the couch. “This is nice,” he said with a sigh.

“It is for sure better than standing under the freezing wind,” Haru agreed. “You want some?”

Rin opened his other eye and lifted his head, seeing Haru’s hand offering him a peeled tangerine. He grinned and just opened his mouth.

“Seriously?” Haru asked amused but still divided the fruit into sections, picking one and bringing it to Rin’s lips. “We’re alone now, I guess,” he commented as Rin bit into the fruit, munching on it happily.

Three peeled fruits and two kittens asleep in their own bed later, they were each on their own phones, looking through the photos they had taken the previous days.

“I think I dreamed of that beef,” Rin commented, stopping on a photo of his lunch from the day before.

“Mmm,” Haru hummed as he typed on his phone. “I think I had a dream about what happened after lunch. What do you think?” he turned the phone towards Rin, his Instagram app opened.

Rin snorted as he saw a post ready to be updated. It featured the last selfie they had taken at the pavilion, just in front of the display of snowmen showing the exit. Funnily enough, the two figures were wearing scarves that looked similar to the ones Rin and Haru were wearing that day. Haru had added a caption saying “Find the difference.”

“It’s cute,” Rin said with a chuckle and threw an arm around Haru’s shoulders, pulling him closer and pressing a kiss to his temple.

He watched Haru update his profile, locking his phone and putting it down on the table, before turning slightly so he could press close to Rin’s side.

This was the cuddling under the kotatsu Rin had longed for.

“Do we have any special plans for tomorrow?” Rin asked.

“I talked with my parents about it,” Haru said. “After visiting the shrine at midnight, we could drive to Bihoro. Mom and Dad often go there to see the first sunrise if the forecast is nice.

“Outside in the cold again?” Rin asked, his voice still mellow.

Haru stole a kiss from his lips. “It would be worth it,” he said, barely moving away.

Rin smiled, feeling the tickle of Haru’s breath on his face. “It has always been worth it,” he whispered, leaning in for another kiss.

“How far is Bihoro, anyway?” he asked, minutes later. They had continued kissing for a bit before realizing the couch behind them made a more comfortable spot for their necks. Rin stretched out along the cushions and Haru sprawled alongside him after grabbing a blanket from the armchair nearby to cover them.

“Something over a three hour drive?” Haru replied, lifting Rin’s arm and moving it over his shoulder.

Rin smiled and pressed closer. “Isn’t that too far away to go back and forth?”

“Grandma’s family has a cabin there where we can go sleep after the sunrise and come back for dinner. How do you like the idea?” Haru wondered.

“I like it,” Rin replied. “Our plane to Tokyo is on the 2nd, right?”

“Mhm,” Haru nodded. “You’ll be going to Iwatobi right away?”

“Yes,” Rin said, kissing Haru again after feeling it had been too long since he’d last done it. “But I won’t be staying that long, I should be in Tokyo by the end of the week.”

Haru pressed his face against Rin’s neck, his lips brushing against the warm skin there. Rin felt a shiver running down his spine when he felt wetness just under his ear.

“Don’t forget…” Haru whispered.

Rin gulped, suddenly feeling his throat go dry. “Forget what?”

“On Wednesday, you’re mine.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it ended up being also short. Anyway, short notice: since tomorrow I'll have a busy day and half of the last chapter is actually set in the New Year, the next update will be the day after tomorrow. Happy NY Celebration to all of you :)


	8. Day 8: Happy New Year

December 31st/January 1st: Happy New Year

 

“How is it going, Rin-kun?” Haru’s dad called, stepping out of the house. 

Rin scraped the last bit of snow from in front of the car, looking down the driveway he had been shoveling for the better part of an hour. “I think I’m done… unless you want me to clear off  somewhere else, too?”

Nanase-san looked at Rin’s work. “Don’t worry, this was enough. Thank you for your work, you really helped me out.”

There had been a snowstorm the past night, the snow starting to fall heavily just when Haru’s parents had come home. Thankfully they woke up to a clear sky and sunny forecast, but the driveway and the cars still needed some clearing.

“It is okay, I needed the exercise. We’ve been lazy this week,” Rin said, leaning the shovel against the wall near the entrance to the house.

“Sometimes, the body needs to rest, too,” Nanase-san said. “I brought you some tea,” he said, offering Rin the mug he carried.

“Oh, thank you, there was no need,” Rin said, accepting the hot drink. “I was about to come inside.”

“I know,” Nanase-san said with a smile. “But I wanted a chance to talk with you alone.”

Rin’s eyes widened and his hand shook from the surprise, making the hot liquid inside the mug almost spill.

“Hey,” Haru’s dad said calmly, noticing Rin’s reaction. “It is nothing bad, okay? Maybe we should sit…” He walked to what Rin assumed was a bench, removing the plastic cover and revealing a wooden bench beneath. “We don’t have the cushion seats out now but it will do,” he commented, folding the cover and letting it drop to the side before sitting down.

Rin carefully took a seat near him, his eyes fixed on the mug.

“It’s not poisoned, you know,” Haru’s dad chuckled.

Rin looked at him, giving a nervous chuckle. “Sorry,” he said, taking a sip. Noticing it was not as piping hot as he expected, he took a second one.

“Did you like Hokkaido?” Nanase-san asked.

“Yes,” Rin replied quickly. “I don’t know if I could ever get used to the temperature,” he added after a second. “But that aside, it is beautiful. Thank you again for inviting me.”

“Ah, it was a pleasure. We’re just sorry we couldn’t really spend much time showing you around. You only spent one evening in Sapporo, right?”

Rin nodded. “I wish the Snow Festival had already started.”

Haru’s dad sighed dreamily. “The Snow Festival… did Haru tell you I met his mom during that time?”

Rin shook his head. “He only mentioned you met during University.”

“Ah yes,” Nanase-san said, a smile on his face as he obviously recalled the older days. “It was my first winter here and some of my classmates dragged me out in the cold to go see the festival.”

“To see the sculptures?” Rin asked.

The man shook his head. “There is a beauty contest during the same time, for the title of Queen of Ice.”

Rin gasped. “Yuki-san was a beauty queen?” he wondered aloud, suddenly every single thing about Haru’s mom making sense, her ethereal beauty, the delicate way of her mannerism, holding her hand in front of her when she laughed…

“No, she was the first runner up,” he said, giving a look at Rin and bursting into a laugh when he saw Rin’s shocked expression. “Yes, I’ve been wondering that too for over the past twenty years. The judges were probably blind.”

“At least,” Rin muttered. “So…” he said slowly. “Was it love at first sight?” he wondered. He was always curious about the way married people had met, especially in the older times, all the small moments that led two people to meet and fall in love… 

“For me? Absolutely,” Nanase-san admitted. “I don’t know how long it took for her… When the contest finished and they walked off the stage, everyone surrounded the winner, obviously. And I saw her standing to the side, so I just… walked to her and…”

“And…”

Nanase-san sighed. “She was so beautiful that I didn’t know what to do, so I just offered her the cup of warm sake I had in my hand. And blurted I was sorry for not having any flowers on me, but even the most beautiful of roses would pale compared to her.”

Rin grinned at the image. “What did she do then?”

“She started laughing,” Nanase-san looked at Rin before continuing. “For some reason, I spoke with a very weird Kansai accent.”

“Really?”

“Yes, for the first month that we dated, she thought I was from Osaka,” Nanase-san recalled, shaking his head. 

“That is a nice story,” Rin commented, taking another sip of his tea.  “I like listening to the stories of how people meet,” he explained. “My parents met in high school, but I only heard my mom’s side of the story…” his voice fell. He used to always ask his mom to tell him the story of how they met, until one day he realized that although she was smiling, her eyes still showed sadness at each memory she revealed… so Rin had stopped asking.

“Your father was smitten the second he saw your mom,” Nanase-san suddenly said.

Rin looked up in shock, almost losing his grip on the mug in his hands. “You… you knew my father?” he asked, the words barely audible.

Haru’s dad gave him a short nod. “Did the thought never occur to you? Both the Matsuoka and the Nanase families are from Iwatobi, and we were actually the same age…” he explained.

Rin felt like a whole world had opened in front of him. He had always just looked at the names of his dad’s teammates from the swimming team, the thought of looking up who else was in his class never even crossed his mind.

“We were never the best of friends,” Nanase-san continued. “But we had been classmates since elementary school, Iwatobi has never been that big of a town, but then I moved to Sapporo for school and we never kept in touch.”

“Oh,” Rin’s head fell, all the questions he was about to ask disappearing from his lips.

“But, I was – along with many of the other people in our school, an observer of your father’s courtship,” Haru’s dad said with amusement in his voice. “Your mom was one year below us, and when she entered our school, Tora-kun first attempted to get her to become the swimming club manager.”

“Did he convince her?” Rin asked.

“Not at all,” Nanase-san said, shaking his head. “She choose to become the manager of the basketball team, so your father joined it as well. He would go to practice straight from the pool, his hair still wet.”

“Were you on the basketball team, too?” Rin wondered.

“Mhm,” the man nodded. “And honestly… for the next two weeks the practices were absurd, your father kept trying and trying to show off as the best basketball player,” Nanase-san chuckled at the memory. “But his aim was just so bad…”

“Oh God,” Rin groaned, his head falling into his hand. “Dad…” He had never heard this story, but it tied in neatly with what he knew about his parents’ first time meeting.

“So, one day…” Nanase-san continued. “Miyako-chan took one for the team, as she said. And she told your dad she would go on a date with him if he dropped out of the basketball club, just to focus on swimming.”

Rin frowned. Did his mom really go on a pity-date with his father?

“But, between us,” Nanase-san said, in a fake whisper as if there were other people who could hear them. “She just used it as an excuse because your father was too shy to actually ask her out.”

Rin’s mouth fell open in surprise. “Really?” he asked.

“Yes,” Haru’s dad said with a nod. “We could all see it in her eyes that she liked him.”

Rin smiled and bit on his lower lip. So, that was the actual story behind how his parents started dating… his mom had never mentioned it.

“You look at Haru with the very same eyes.”

Rin’s heart skipped a beat. He and Haru hadn’t talked about when and how they would tell their parents, he didn’t even know if Haru had said anything to his… “How…” he blurted. “I mean, Nanase-san… do you… when…”

Nanase-san chuckled. “I don’t get to spend much time with my son, but Haruka has the same eyes as his mom and I know those pretty well.” 

Rin frowned. “I’m not sure…”

Nanase-san sighed. “Ah, you really are as hopeless as your father. The way he looks at you, is the way my wife looks at me. And since we’ve been together for over twenty years, I would take that as a good sign, don’t you think, Rin-kun?”

Rin felt the tips of his ears burning in embarrassment but his lips were twitching into a smile. 

Nanase-san smiled back at him. “You know,” he continued with a more serious tone. “My son has always been a loner, in his own way. When he was little and we would go to Iwatobi, he would demand to not be helped up and down the stairs, even if he was barely tall enough to climb them. We actually ended up tying a rope along the staircase outside so he could have something to hold onto because he even refused to take our hands.”

Rin chuckled. “I don’t find that hard to imagine,” he admitted.

“We know that Haruka has made some friends through the years, thanks to swimming mainly but… we are still, just very happy that he found someone he wants to be with,” Nanase-san said sincerely.

Rin sniffed, he was not going to cry, it was just because of the cold outside. “So, you don’t mind…”

Haru’s dad shook his head. “Let me tell you another story, and I don’t think even Haruka knows this one. The first time we took him to Iwatobi, he was just one year old. We had figured out he would have an affinity with water; he always looked blissed when we were bathing him. But Asahikawa doesn’t have a sea and even Otaru was too cold. So, when we arrived to Iwatobi to visit my parents, we took him to the beach and as we thought, he loved it. Every day I would take him down the stairs, to the ocean and he would play there on a blanket. One day, we were sitting there when we saw there was another young family walking down the beach, and I recognized them from my school years, they had also just had a baby.”

Rin’s eyes widened, his brain connecting the dots of what he had found out earlier with a  little math. 

Haru’s dad laughed when he saw Rin’s expression of slow realization. 

“And Haruka was just so confused by this little baby,” he continued narrating the story. “See, we didn’t have any friends with kids so small and Haru wanted to play with this little boy, but the boy was to small to play anything really, although my son kept placing his small blue ball into the baby’s hands, the ball would just roll off somewhere. In the end, my son ended up just sitting there on his blanket, and the only thing he could do was making faces at the baby and make him laugh.”

Rin had to chuckle at the mental image, although there was a question he was dying to ask. “That baby…” he said in a whisper.

Nanase-san smiled knowingly and unzipped his jacket, slipping his hand inside. “I actually found this months ago and I’ve been holding onto it this whole week, wanting to show it to you… but there was never a chance…” he pulled out an old photograph, handing it to Rin.

Rin took it with trembling hands, exhaling a shaky breath when he turned it around and saw what was on it.

There was a baby Haru, he recognized him immediately. He was poking his finger at a chubby baby with bright red hair that were escaping from a small hat. Rin’s heart started beating furiously when he recognized the two adult people in the photo. Sitting on the corner of the blanket was Rin’s mom, smiling at the sight in front of her. The other adult was Rin’s father, grinning at the little baby in his lap who could only be Rin himself.

“Maybe it was fate…” Haru’s dad commented.

Rin inhaled. “Dad…” he whispered. 

“I think you heard this before, but he adored you,” Nanase-san said with a soft voice.

Rin nodded, tears welling up his eyes but he refused to let any of them fall. He closed his eyelids and tilted his head backwards, trying to compose himself.

Nanase-san sneezed suddenly, actually helping Rin to regain himself.

“Bless you,” he said, taking another deep breath. He offered the photo back to Haru’s dad, but the man shook his head.

“Keep it,” he said. “You should have it.”

Rin looked back down at the photo, the laughing image of his father burning into his brain. “Thank you, Nanase-san.”

“You’re welcome,” the man said. “Now,” he suddenly said, standing up. “Can you do me just one favor?”

Rin stood up abruptly. “Yes,” he said, his back straight. Whatever Haruka’s dad wanted to ask him, Rin was ready to obey. Whether it would be cleaning the cars, shoveling the backyard, staying with his son for the rest of their lives,  _ anything. _

“Would you please drop the Nanase-san?” he asked.

Rin frowned. “How should I…?”

“Both your parents called me Kaito-kun…” Haru’s dad said.

Rin frowned. There was no way he was using –kun with him. “Kaito-san?” he offered.

The man pondered it for a second. “Oh, well, that’s how everyone else in the family calls me.”

The front door opened then, Haru walking out in just a fleece sweater. He looked around the driveway before noticing the two on the other side. “Dad,” he said. “Mom is calling for you,” he said, looking at his father before his eyes found Rin.

“Oh right, I still have to move the tree from the living room,” Haru’s dad,  _ Kaito-san,  _ suddenly remembered. “Good talking with you, Rin-kun,” he said, looking back at him before walking to the front door.

“Ah, same,” Rin called back, just when the man opened the door. He threw Rin a wink and disappeared inside.

“Everything okay?” Haru asked with a frown, walking close to Rin. 

“Yes,” Rin said with a sniff and unzipped his parka to store the photo inside.

“What is that?” Haru asked, noticing the photograph. 

“Ah,” Rin bit on his lip, thinking about what Kaito-kun told him. “I’ll show you one day…” he said, vaguely. 

Haru gave him a side-eye. “You look like you need a hug…” he suddenly said, changing the subject.

Rin sighed, his shoulders dropping. “I do, don’t I?” he asked, opening his arms.

Haru walked to him, unzipping Rin’s parka all the way down and wrapping his arms around Rin’s waist.

Rin smiled into the touch, returning the hug and this time actually trying to zip them up together. 

“We actually do fit…” he said when he managed to pull the zipper up to Haru’s back.

“Why do you sound so surprised? I told you we did,” Haru said, his lips hovering over Rin’s ear. 

“You did…” Rin agreed, pressing his own lips against Haru’s neck. And then he felt shivers running down his back as his whole body started shaking, suddenly the tears were falling from his eyes and he couldn’t stop them anymore.

“Rin…” Haru worried; their cheeks were both wet with Rin’s tears.

“Please, let me cry,” Rin said shakily, pressing even closer to Haru than what he thought was possible. 

Haru sighed, one of his hands stroking slowly up and down Rin’s back. “Just tell me what type of tears are they…”

Rin snorted. “Tears of relief,” he said with a sniff.

“Okay,” Haru nodded and pressed a kiss to Rin’s cheek. “I’ll be here.”

Rin nodded as another wave of sobs ran through him. He didn’t know how long they remained out there in the cold, Rin crying and Haru holding him in his arms. 

“You want to take a nap?” Haru suggested, after Rin’s tremors had stopped for some time, yet they were still wrapped in each other. “We will be driving for most of the night,” he added.

Rin nodded and slowly unzipped his parka. Haru took a step back and looked at him.

“How bad it is?” Rin asked.

“Eh,” Haru said with a shrug. “I’ve seen worse,” he teased him, pressing a small peck to his lips.

Rin snorted and let himself be pulled back inside. They removed their shoes and Rin made sure neither of Haru’s parents were in sight to look at his puffy eyes before walking to the stairs.

“Rin,” Haru grabbed his hand, stopping him from reaching the second step. 

Rin turned back to look at him, confused. 

“Let’s go to my room, instead,” Haru said, pulling on his hand.

Rin let himself be dragged down the hallway, feeling too tired from all the tears he had shed. He hadn’t lied, they were tears of relief, but there had been so many Rin was starting to get a headache. 

Rin didn’t realize it was his first time in Haru’s room until he was standing in the middle of it. Everything was pristine white, with blue accents on the sheets and the curtains. There wasn’t much in it, just a wardrobe, a bed, and a desk with a few of Haru’s school textbooks scattered on it. But what caught Rin’s attention was the corkboard above the desk, full of pictures. He took a step closer to look at all the photographs that were pinned on it. Every one had Haru in it, showing him through the years. From when he was a toddler to what had to be his first day of school. And then there was the photograph from their first relay, and also the one from their relay in the second year in high school. There were pictures of them from their graduation party, a photo of Haru, Mikoshiba, and Asahi during what had to be one of their first races in university. There was even the selfie Rin and Haru took in Australia when they were watching the sunset.

“This is all my mom’s doing,” Haru said, stepping closer. “She prints almost all of them photos I send her… or Makoto’s mom,” he said, pointing at a couple of pictures that had to be taken during various school trips.

“It’s nice…” Rin commented, dropping his head on Haru’s shoulder.

“How are you feeling?” Haru asked softly.

“Mmm,” Rin said, nuzzling into Haru’s neck. “That nap sounds like a good idea…”

* * *

 

They had napped cuddled up in Haru’s bed for most of the afternoon, waking up just in time to get a shower and eat soba noodles for dinner. Before Rin even realized it, he was zipping up his overnight bag and getting ready for the shrine visit.

Haru was waiting for him in the genkan, his backpack on his shoulders and two pocket warmers in his hand. 

“Thank you,” Rin said, taking them and looking around. “Your parents?” 

“Already in the car,” Haru answered, zipping up his coat and putting his scarf into place.

Rin finished tying up his shoes and stood up, quickly walking to Haru and pressing his lips to Haru’s in a firm kiss. He knew there was no chance they could kiss at midnight, so he wanted to make sure to get in as many kisses as he could beforehand. 

The car was already turned on, Haru’s parents waiting in the front seat. Haru walked to the trunk, lifting it open and dropping his backpack into the empty space.

“Huh,” Rin said with a frown, putting his bag inside. “Where is your parents’ stuff?” he asked as Haru shut the trunk.

Haru looked at him, confused. “They’re not going, there is just one bed in the cabin.”

“Eeh?” Rin asked with a pitchy voice. “What do you mean there is just one bed?”

Haru tilted his head. “What is your problem, we napped together just a few hours ago…”

Rin shook his head. “It’s not about sharing a bed, but your parents will know…” 

“So?” Haru wondered. “They know about us and they know about Sydney…”

“What do you mean they know about Sydney?” Rin asked, his voice going even higher.

“Boys,” Kaito-san asked, opening his door. “Is everything okay? We’re going to be late…”

“Yes, dad,” Haru said, taking Rin’s hand and squeezing it.

The visit at the shrine went as any other New Year’s visit although to Rin’s surprise, there weren’t many people so after the countdown, the line for the first prayer of the year went quickly. They fished out their fortunes, both Rin and Haru getting great luck and after writing their wishes on their  _ ema _ , the four of them were walking back to the car. 

Rin felt his phone buzzing in his pocket and he pulled it out, opening the message he had just received from his sister.

‘Happy New Year!!’ the message simply said and attached to it was a photo of Steve in the forefront, Gou and Sousuke in the background smiling at the camera. Rin frowned when he saw his best friend’s expression and stopped in his tracks to pull the phone closer to his face. He zoomed on it and either he was crazy, or he could really see a hint of pale pink lip-gloss in the corner of Sousuke’s mouth.

‘We will have a talk when I’m back’ he typed in reply. Then he looked at the photo again and sighed. What Kaito-san said earlier about someone’s eyes… He opened another message and typed ‘Happy New Year, Gou’ before hitting send again and closing the phone. 

“Rin-kun,” Kaito-san suddenly called, and Rin looked up to see Haru’s dad waiting for him. Haru and his mom were already at the car. 

“Yes?” Rin said, quickening his steps to join the man.

“I already gave my son his, this one is for you,” he said, offering Rin a small envelope.

Rin’s widened as he recognized it as an  _ otoshidama  _ pouch. 

“Oh no,” he said, shaking his head. “Kaito-san, I can’t… I’m too old for this, you don’t have to…”

“If my son got one, you can get one, too,” Kaito-san replied, not accepting no as an answer.

“But,” Rin objected. “I am not fam-”

“I wouldn’t finish that line if I were you,” Kaito-san said with calm but stern voice. “Didn’t we talk about this earlier? We welcome any person Haru chooses…”

Rin bit his lower lip, a familiar tingling in his eyes. He did not want to start the new year crying, damn it.

“Thank you,” he said eventually, accepting the small envelope with both hands and a bow.

“Just take care of him, okay?” Kaito-san asked, with a smile.

Rin nodded. “I will.”

“Ah, before I forget,” the man said and took a step closer, putting a hand on Rin’s shoulder.

Rin braced himself, imagining the long list of threats he was about to get.

“I’m pretty sure your mom told you this, too, but for what it is worth coming from someone who knew him growing up…” Kaito-san said, squeezing Rin’s shoulder. “Tora-kun would be so proud of you.”

Rin inhaled through his nose, his shoulders shaking. He didn’t know why it made such a difference, other people had said the same thing before… often times he felt that outside of his mother, people who told him this would do so just because they were supposed to. But this time, it sounded different, maybe because Kaito-san had used Rin’s dad’s nickname or because…

“Why do you always leave him in tears?” came Haru’s voice suddenly.

His dad and Rin both looked at him surprised, Rin taking the chance to dry the corner of his eyes with one hand and sneaking the envelope into his pocket with the other.

“Hey, it’s not me,” Kaito-san said in defense. “I’m pretty sure it is in his blood,…” he added as a joke, making his son look confused at him. “Ah, isn’t this a nice night?” he said, looking up at the dark sky, scattered with shiny stars. “You know what? Your mom and I can take a walk home, you boys just hit the road,” he said, throwing the car keys at Haru who barely managed to catch them in the darkness. 

* * *

 

The drive to the Bihoro pass was, as predicted, long. It was almost 5am when they arrived at the cabin, both of them slowly blinking from the tiredness despite the long nap they had taken.

The light flickered a few times when they turned it on, before throwing a yellow light across the place. It was small, with just one tiny kitchen that opened into a dining/living room. The open door on the right showed Rin where the bedroom was, which meant that the two doors at the end of the small hallway had to lead to the toilet and the bathroom.

But despite the small place, everything looked so cozy and inviting.

“It looks very…”

“Romantic?” Haru suggested, looking up from where he had kneeled in front of the fireplace to light it. “My parents actually came here for their honeymoon,” he added, watching the first flames coming to life and crackling.

“Really?” Rin asked, the news not really surprising him. It  _ was  _ romantic, and Rin could only imagine how nice it would be to stay in this place for a week or two, alone with the love of your life, away from everyone…

“I’m pretty sure I was conceived in the room next door,” Haru said, killing all the romantic thoughts with one single line.

“Ehh?” Rin asked shocked.

Haru shrugged. “My parents got married the August before I was born, you do the math.”

Rin gulped. He did not want to spend the first night of the year, let alone the first night he and Haru would spend together as a couple sharing a bed, on the very same mattress on which Haru was conceived. 

“I think I will sleep on the floor,” he muttered.

Haru rolled his eyes and grabbed his hand, pulling them close. 

“The old bed broke this summer,” he said, giving Rin a reassuring kiss. “Aunt Kano and her husband replaced it after the twins destroyed it by jumping on it.”

Rin looked unsure. “Really?” he asked.

Haru nodded. “We will actually be the first people sleeping on it,” he explained and walked to the kitchenette. “Mom prepared us a thermos with coffee, do you want some?” He looked at the clock on the wall. “We still have some time before the sunrise,” he grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and put them on the counter.

* * *

 

They had found the perfect spot.

It was a half an hour walk away from the cabin, a perfect view of Lake Kussharo stretching out in front of them, yet far away from any main road to give them the privacy they needed to share kisses as the sky above them started changing colors.

“Soon,” Haru said, giving Rin a final peck and turning to look at the view. There were low clouds stretching through a part of the lake, the island in the middle of it still visible. It was starting to lighten up and a pale hue of orange appeared on the horizon. Rin wrapped an arm around Haru’s shoulders, pressing a kiss to Haru’s temple.

When he looked back at the sky, the first sliver of red was showing. 

“Rin,” Haru said. “Let’s do our best this year, okay?”

Rin smiled. “Let’s do it,” he agreed, leaning down to give Haru a kiss full of all hopes. “Haru?” he said, yet he kept their lips tightly pressed together in an endless kiss.

“Mm?” Haru murmured, not showing any intention of stopping either.

“I love you,” Rin said, pulling back enough to say the words and look for Haru’s reaction.

Haru looked at him, his eyes shining again with the same light Rin saw days before in Ikeda and he had a feeling he now knew what it was. 

“I love you, too,” he said.

Rin grinned. “But next year, we’re visiting your aunt in Okinawa.”

“Definitely.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S DONE. Welp, somehow I did it, 8 chapters in (almost) 8 days, phew... and I think I managed to write down 95% of the stuff I wanted to write in (and a hell lot of things I thought of as I wrote....)I wanna say thank you again to everyone who helped me with this fic, and to everyone who read it, left a comment or a kudo :3 I hope you all have a great 2019!


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